Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory

Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory
Conceptual diagram for the DUSEL laboratory.

The Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory, or DUSEL is a major project under consideration by the National Science Foundation. DUSEL will be a series of large laboratories, caverns, and cleanrooms serving the field of underground science. The main impetus for DUSEL is the study of extremely rare nuclear physics processes, like neutrino scattering, dark matter interactions, and neutrinoless double beta decay, which can only be studied in the absence of cosmic rays. (Cosmic ray muons on the Earth's surface cause backgrounds in these types of detectors, but the particles cannot penetrate great depths in rock.) Easy access to these great depths will open new frontiers in geomicrobiology, geosciences, and mining engineering, making DUSEL a multidisciplinary facility.

Various proposals for an American underground science facility have existed for at least a decade. Eight teams submitted proposals in 2005, including both existing mines (which need only be retrofitted and enlarged) and "green sites" from which a new facility could be excavated. Of these eight, via various downselections, the NSF gave R&D grants to two proposals, Homestake Mine (South Dakota) and the Henderson molybdenum mine in Colorado. In July 2007 the NSF gave its approval to Homestake.[1]

If completed, Homestake will be the deepest underground science facility in the world, 8,000 feet (2,400 m) below ground (7200 meters of water equivalent, for cosmic-ray shielding purposes), deeper than the current record holder, SNOLAB in Sudbury, Ontario at 6,800 feet (2,100 m) below (6000 mwe). The next-deepest US facilities are the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant at 2300 mwe and Soudan mine at 2200 mwe.

Gaining access to that depth will take some time, since as of 10 August 2009 (2009 -08-10) the mine is flooded to the 4,992-foot (1,522 m) depth[2] and will need to be pumped dry and rusted equipment repaired. Plans are to construct an interim laboratory, at the 4,850-foot (1,480 m) level.[3] This "Sanford Underground Laboratory at Homestake", currently funded by T. Denny Sanford ($70 million) and the state of South Dakota ($35 million) will support a National Science Foundation grant application for the full DUSEL (est. $550 million) in 2011.[4]

In 2008, the Rapid City Public Library created a DUSEL wiki[5] that collects news articles, photos, and information pertaining to the experiments that will take place in Homestake Mine. It also includes a list of other underground science facilities and a forum for community discussion.

Future of DUSEL in doubt due to funding uncertainty

In late 2010, the oversight board of the National Science Foundation dropped out of the project leaving the future of DUSEL in doubt. The National Science Board rejected requests from DUSEL’s designers for more money after spending the $19 million allocated. Additionally, the board did not like its proposed role in DUSEL that would have made the foundation part of a stewardship program to run it.[6]

References

  1. ^ "07-075: Team Selected for the Proposed Design of the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory" (Press release). NSF. 2007-07-10. http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=109694&org=NSF&from=news. Retrieved 2007-08-28. 
  2. ^ Weekly Water-Level Reports. South Dakota Science and Technology Authority. 2009-02-02. http://www.sanfordundergroundlaboratoryathomestake.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=25. Retrieved 2009-02-06 
  3. ^ Bill Harlan (2006-11-28). "Mine Water Rises". Rapid City Journal. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20070929084821/http://www.sanfordlaboratoryathomestake.org/news_11-28-06.html. Retrieved 2007-08-28. 
  4. ^ Welcome to deep science. South Dakota Science and Technology Authority. http://sanfordlaboratoryathomestake.org/?p=24. Retrieved 2008-04-13 
  5. ^ "Welcome to Rapid City Public Library's Sanford Lab Wiki!". http://dusel.wikidot.com. Retrieved 2011-10-11. 
  6. ^ "U.S. Science Community Suffers Setbacks Despite Obama's Push for More Investing". Fox News. 2011-07-16. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/16/us-science-community-suffers-setbacks-despite-obamas-push-for-more-investing/?test=latestnews. 

See also


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Soudan Underground Mine State Park — Infobox nrhp | name =Soudan Iron Mine nrhp type =nhl caption =The 27th level of the Soudan Mine location=Tower Soudan State Park nearest city= Tower, Minnesota lat degrees = long degrees = area = built =1900 architect= designated = November 13,… …   Wikipedia

  • Soudan Underground Mine State Park — Hinweistafel auf Sohle 27. Der Soudan Underground Mine State Park ist ein State Park in Minnesota und liegt an der Stelle der Soudan Underground Mine am südlichen Ufer vom Lake Vermilion. Das Bergwerk ist das älteste, tiefste und ehemals reichste …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Underground nuclear testing — Preparation for an underground nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site in the 1990s. Nuclear weapons …   Wikipedia

  • Dark matter — Not to be confused with antimatter, dark energy, dark fluid or dark flow. For other uses, see Dark Matter (disambiguation) …   Wikipedia

  • Lead, South Dakota — Infobox Settlement official name = Lead, South Dakota other name = native name = nickname = settlement type = City motto = imagesize = image caption = flag size = image seal size = image shield = shield size = image blank emblem = blank emblem… …   Wikipedia

  • Homestake Mine (South Dakota) — The Homestake Mine is a deep underground gold mine located near Lead, South Dakota. Until it closed in 2002 it was the largest and deepest gold mine in North America, producing more than $1 billion in gold. [Yarrow, Andrew L.… …   Wikipedia

  • Wick Haxton — Wick C. Haxton (* 21. September 1949 in Santa Cruz, Kalifornien) ist ein US amerikanischer theoretischer Kern und Astrophysiker. Haxton wuchs in Santa Cruz auf, studierte ab 1967 an der dortigen University of California (Bachelor in Physik und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rapid City, South Dakota — City of Rapid City   City   Downtown Rapid City …   Wikipedia

  • T. Denny Sanford — Statue of Sanford in front of the Sanford USD Medical Center. Born Thomas Denny Sanford December 23, 1935 ( …   Wikipedia

  • Rapid City Public Library — The Rapid City Public Library is the system of public libraries in Rapid City, South Dakota. It is comprised of two locations, the downtown branch at 610 Quincy Street, and the North location at 10 Van Buren St. The library offers standard… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”