Cabled Observatory event explores multi-disciplinary synergy
A “Deep Ocean Cabled Observatories” workshop – examining potential synergies between astroparticle physics and marine and earth sciences – was held at NIKHEF, in Amsterdam, on 24-25 May this year.
The conference revealed many areas in which physics can collaborate with other disciplines – with the deep-ocean physics installations providing the perfect opportunity to accommodate such devices as seismometers and hydrophones, to gather data for varied researches.
“I was very satisfied with the meeting,” said conference organiser Els de Wolf, adding: “[This] is a first step in defining how two very different research fields -astroparticle physics and earth and deep-sea research – can benefit from each other in sharing observatories, and – and this is what I personally like most – by using each other’s data to further enhance both research fields.”
The first day of the event focussed on current research projects being undertaken across the globe – including such observatories as ANTARES, IceCube and Nestor. Following an evening tour of Amsterdam’s famous canals, the second day focussed on future projects and potential collaborations – notably concerning KM3NeT, the cubic-kilometre sized neutrino detector which is to be based in the Mediterranean Sea.
Attendees were also given the opportunity to examine one of KM3NeT’s deployment cages – currently under development at NIKHEF – which will unspool the lines of neutrino modules forming the future observatory. In total, the site is intended to have around 6,000 modules on 300 lines – compared with ANTARES’ 900 sensor modules on 12 lines.
For more information on the event – including videos of the roundtable discussions -, please visit the conference website. More information on cabled observatories can be found in the recent ASPERA report “From the Geosphere to the Cosmos”.
