Research in deep underground laboratories illuminates many of the most compelling questions in 21st century science. Sheltered by the earth’s crust from the background commotion of cosmic rays and human activity, exquisitely sensitive particle physics and astrophysics experiments search for subtle but unmistakable signatures of a revolutionary new physics of the universe. Biologists probe the secrets of microbial life at extreme depths, in hot, harsh environments sequestered for millennia from the earth’s surface. Geoscientists and engineers research the behavior of subsurface rock, minerals, water and energy sources.
A new national deep underground science and engineering laboratory (see Figure 1) would extend the frontiers of particle physics and astrophysics, biology, geosciences and engineering – and foster the synergies between them. It would contribute strongly to the basic science that is the foundation of the nation’s prosperity. It would provide unique opportunities for innovation in underground technology, with immediate and long-term applications for the nation’s security and economic well-being. It would address the nation’s need to sustain world leadership in fundamental and applied science and to educate, train and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.
This Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) is proposed to be built at the former Homestake goldmine in Lead, SD with construction beginning in 2012. It will be the deepest and largest underground laboratory in the world (see Figure 2).
Keep up to date with happenings at Sanford Underground Laboratory at Homestake by visiting http://www.sanfordundergroundlaboratoryathomestake.org/