Sean Paling STFC Boulby Underground Science Facility
Hartlepool Nuclear Astroparticle physics & ultra Power Station low background studies
Earth and environmental science, AIT-NEO Astrobiology and planetary (WATCHMAN) exploration
Boulby Underground Laboratory: The UK’s multi-disciplinary deep underground science facility. Status, plans and opportunities for growth Underground lab @ Boulby Boulby Underground Laboratory
The UK’s deep underground science facility operating in a working polyhalite & salt mine. 1.1km depth (2805 mwe). With low background surrounding rock-salt Rock-Salt Operated by the UK’s Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) in partnership with the mine operators ICL
Polyhalite
Deepest mine in Britain Permian Evaporites
Factor ~106 reduction in cosmic ray flux vs. surface
A QUIET place in the Universe Boulby Geology & Mining Major local employer. Open since 1968. Originally mining potash (KCl) for fertiliser. Now first and only producers of polyhalite Excavations are in Salt (NaCl) & Potash (KCl) Permian evaporite layers left over from the Zechstein Sea.
Typical Boulby Salt Roadway
Potash Zechstein Sea
KCl Mine Shafts Rock-Salt
NaCl
New Lab Polyhalite (2017)
K2Ca2Mg(SO4)4·2H2O Boulby Geology Office space, chemistry & clean prep lab, storage and staging space, IT room, conference room,
Surface support and 3 staging building 3000m Outside Outside ExperimentationExperimentation Area Area
Boulby Underground Lab Facilities 2020: >4000m3 class 1k & 10k clean room lab space 100Mb Internet AC, Air filtration, 5T & 10T lifting, LN generation, fume hood & clean prep 3 BUGS+ Material screening 3000m Outside Expt. Area. Power & internet Underground Science @ Boulby Mine • DRIFT/CYGNUS: Directional Dark Matter • Spherical Proportional Counters (NEWS-G) R&D • BUGS: Ultra-low background material screening (for LUX-ZEPLIN and Super-K-Gd and more) DRIFT-II • AWE(Ge): Atmospheric gamma spectroscopy
ULB screening of LZ PMTs • RESOURCE: Salt cavity energy storage study BUGs Screening LZ PMTs • BISAL: Geo-microbiology / Astrobiology studies Life in Boulby salt… • MINAR: Space Exploration Tech. Development • Misc. Low Background & Geoscience…
• Etc... (More to come). Astrobiology & planetary exploration A busy & growing multi-disciplinary science programme: Astrophysics and Low Background science, Earth and Environmental Science, Astrobiology and Planetary Exploration. Boulby Facility Details…
The UK’s deep underground science facility. One of 4 in EU. >10 in the world. Supports work of 10 collaborative projects (astrophysics to climate, geology, environment etc), >40 institutions, >170 scientists & students. The World’s Underground • Facility funded and operated by the Science & labs Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
• Operations, H&S & science How does Boulby Compare? programme managed by 8 (+2) • Low Radon levels (3 Bq/m3) • Diverse science programme. onsite staff and supported by • Science and Industry partnership Rutherford Appleton Lab (PPD).
• Mine operators ICL-UK provide wide-ranging operational & high level support.
Gamma Spectra Boulby Dark Matter Studies…
Boulby has hosted Dark Matter search studies for over two decades. Including the NAIAD, DRIFT & ZEPLIN experiment programmes. Boulby now hosts CYGNUS directional DM programme, NEWS-G/Dark-Sphere R&D and providing ULB material screening for other ZEPLIN-III @ Boulby studies, inc LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Galactic rotation curvesAlpha DM-Ice ZEPLIN-II & III: The world’s first 2-phase Xenon dark matter detectors (Finished 2011)
World DM particle search limits and future projections ZEPLIN-III @ Boulby [email protected] Boulby Dark Matter Studies…
DRIFT/CYGNUS: R&D for DIRECTIONAL Dark Matter detection. DRIFT
STATUS: Programme operating at Boulby since 2001. - IId@ Boulby Currently limit-setting and conducting system performance & scale-up R&D. Plans for further R&D & expansion / collaboration (CYGNUS). Dual (1m3 total) Negative Ion drift TPC
Directional detection
Occidental College, Simulated data NEWS-G New Mexico, @Boulby Colorado State, Uni. B’ham Hawaii, Wellesley, Spherical & NEWS-G Sheffield, TPC R&D collab Edinburgh, Boulby WIMP flux
NEWS-G: Spherical gas TPC: Low mass (0.1-10 Directional DM detection providing the GeV) DM detection & neutron spectrometry most powerful direct detection signature BUGS (+) Material Screening Growing suite (‘BUGS’: Boulby Underground Germanium Suite) of Ultra-Low-Background (ULB) germanium detector systems to support Dark Matter & misc ‘rare-event’ studies…
Sensitivity down to <50ppt U/Th per sample, & improving
Our Current Detectors; - Ortec 1.8 kg (72%) p-type (ULB) - Canberra 2.0 kg (112%) & 3.2 kg (171%) p-types (S-ULB) Boulby Underground - 2x Canberra BEGe detectors Germanium Suite (BUGS) BUGs Screening LZ PMTs (5030 ULB, 6530 S-ULB) - Canberra SAGe Well-type (S-ULB) ULB counting studies supporting UK DM (LZ) and neutrino communities. Now EXPANDING ULB counting capabilities. Inc. XIA surface alpha counting
In collaboration with UCL, LZ DMUK, Sheffield & others. LUX-ZEPLIN Boulby undertaking major role in material BUGS ULB LUX-ZEPLIN Germanium Suite selection for LUX-ZEPLIN and Super-K-Gd <0.0001 alphas/cm2/hr
XIA alpha particle counter
BUGS (Boulby Underground Germanium Suite) World-class material screening for current and future ULB experiments. Towards PPT sensitivity for G3 DM and Neutrino Expts.
LZ PMTs
LZ and SK-Gd sample testing underway. XIA S.M.Paling - [email protected] BUGS Lab surface alpha screening system commissioned. Boulby Multi-Disciplinary Studies
RESOURCE: Rock engineering feasibility study of salt cavity compressed gas sustainable energy storage
Boulby, British Geology Survey (BGS), Cambridge, Manchester.
ERSaB: Gamma spectroscopy & low background counting environmental radioactivity studies Low Background Science,
Boulby, Scottish Universities Env. Research Earth & Environment Science, Ctr (SUERC), Atomic Weapons Estab. (AWE) Astrobiology & Planetary Exploration... Life in Boulby Salt…
MINAR: Space Technology Development Boulby, Edinburgh, NASA, York, ICL etc.
Plus Misc. Geology & Geoscience (& more to BISAL: Astrobiology / Geo-microbiology. Studies of come)… life in salt, life on Earth & beyond [email protected] March 2020 Borehole CCS Muon Detector
Muon Tides Detector
Life in Brine Sampling
MINAR – MUFFHINS
SELLR – Life in low SELLR – Life in low backgroundbackground MINAR – CLUPI
BUGs Pb-210 dating MINAR - Pancam Future Science… …Continue current studies, PLUS…
Expanding Astrobiology, MINAR & wider Robotics AIT-NEO RESOURCE study (NERC): Salt cavity test facility for Neutrinos & nuclear studies of compressed gas energy storage? non-proliferation BUGS: Expanding low background material screening DRIFT- and environmental gamma spectroscopy. II Misc astro/particle studies Inc. DarkSPHERE, AION-100… • AIT-NEO (WATCHMAN): 6kT Water-based neutrino RESOURCE: Salt cavity detector for nuclear non-proliferation purposes & more… energy storage • ‘BOULBY-FS’: STFC funded feasibility study for Boulby hosting next generation Dark Matter, Neutrino and Neutrino-less Double beta decay studies… Robotics Develop as a truly multi-disciplinary facility for Astrophysics and Low Background science, Earth and Environmental Science, Astrobiology and Planetary Exploration. World antineutrino flux levels A WATer CHerenkov Monitor of ANtineutrinos
Design, excavation, installation & operation 2019 to 2024(+) A 6kT Gd- loaded water detector looking at ~20 m anti-neutrinos from Hartlepool nuclear reactor
• 3500 tons of gadoliniumVertices doped water within 50cm • 3000 photomultiplier tubes Funding: US (>$70M), UK (~£10M) • Signal: ~11 events/month/core confirmed in 2017 & 2018 respectively • ΔTBackground: ~30μs ~20 events/month NEW 6kT prototype detector: R&D for anti-neutrino monitoring of nuclear reactors for global nuclear non-proliferation purposes & more New excavation required…
Main cavity and ancillary tunnels. Design, Concept. design excavation, installation & operation 2019 to 2026(+)
100+ Collaborators from 20+ US/UK research institutes
Existing STFC-Boulby Deep underground science facility Major future international astro/particle physics projects Opportunities for the UK to host MAJOR future international Dark Matter, neutrino and fundamental science projects: 2025+
Dark Matter
0�BB Boulby-FS study: Infrastructure design, feasibility & costing studies for next generation Dark Matter and/or 0vBB detectors Study underway 2020-2021 10 T Liquid Xenon • HIGH-impact, world-leading science • LARGE multi-national collaborations • BIG fundamental science questions • MAJOR local & national investment, impact and visibility LZ Detector, USA Next Generation DM or 0vBB @ Boulby? Thank You…. Laboratory space, low background counting, science support @ Boulby .
Please Contact us… Email: [email protected] Web: www.stfc.ac.uk/boulby Sean Paling Facebook: Boulby Underground STFC Boulby Underground Laboratory Laboratory