UMD Launches 90-Sensor Lake Superior Neutrino Mission With 5 Frames
Updated
Updated · MPR News · Nov 11
UMD Launches 90-Sensor Lake Superior Neutrino Mission With 5 Frames
3 articles · Updated · MPR News · Nov 11
Summary
A 238-foot research vessel reached Duluth to begin deploying five detector frames about 3 miles off Two Harbors, marking the first neutrino experiment ever placed in a freshwater lake.
Each 8,000-pound frame carries 18 spherical sensors that will sit 200 meters below Lake Superior, looking for faint blue flashes created when Fermilab neutrinos strike atoms in the water.
The setup is designed to separate the Chicago-area lab's beam from solar and cosmic neutrinos by tracking the particles' direction; crews will also run fiber-optic cables back to a temporary shore station.
The tens-of-millions project is led by the University of Minnesota Duluth with DOE labs and DARPA support, as Fermilab's current beam to northern Minnesota is due to shut down in February.
Researchers say the test may mainly prove how lakebed neutrino detection works, though the technology could later support bigger physics experiments and possible nuclear-monitoring applications.