While the prospect of detecting implosion events is still good, the investigation has been stalled by lack of access to the CTBTO hydrophone data.
Despite the initial promise of an invitation to access the needed CTBTO data by becoming a contractor, the submitted proposal has been denied. Engineers at CTBTO have confirmed that the data is online and available, but a bureaucratic technicality is preventing access. A CTBTO administrator is requiring that the contract can only be made with an individual “employed by a large organization”. They estimate that it could take months for their legal team to make modifications that would allow data access by an independent contractor.
After some discussion, one possible solution has been allowed: A qualified primary investigator could name a secondary person on the contract who is independent of their organization. Data access would be granted by finding an organizational sponsor willing to put through the paperwork.
The contract is apparently only for purposes of constraining disclosure of the source data and research results. There is no financial reward, just the potential of helping to find the missing plane.
If you belong to a large organization and are willing to mail some documents to get this research moving forward, please get in touch!