Pokhran-II was a series of five nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India in May 1998, Pakistan responded with six underground nuclear tests at the Chagai and Kharan test site conducted fifteen days after India's last test.
It was all abit unexpected at the time and the US was interested to know how it came to be that Australians were present.
I am sorry I am not following the connection between Pokhran-II nuclear tests and Australia. Would you mind sharing some more information or a link maybe?
Ostensibly for a routine few hundred thousand line kilometres of geophysical survey in northern India for mineral exploration.
Contracted to a cutout company.
It just happened to be the first such survey in India and to coincidentally be at the exact place and time the area turned into an underground nuclear test site.
I would hazard that there is a good bit of transmission of shock waves from below to the surface, but it's ofc attenuated by the large mismatch in density at the ground air-interface...
True story, and these days you'd probably have to go to paper copies to find quotes from senior US defence | politicians expressing surprise at tests that seemingly came out of nowhere.
I dare say somebody might write it up well after retirement for release after death.
It was all abit unexpected at the time and the US was interested to know how it came to be that Australians were present.