INSPIRE Track 1: Three-Dimensional Seismometer Array at the Homestake Mine

INSPIRE 轨道 1：Homestake 矿的三维地震仪阵列

• 批准号: 1344265
• 负责人: Vuk Mandic
• 金额: $ 43.79万
• 依托单位: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-15 至 2017-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1344265&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: INSPIRE; Track; Three; Dimensional; Seismometer

This INSPIRE award is partially funded by the LIGO Research Support program in the Division of Physics in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences and Geophysics program in the Division of Earth Sciences in the Directorate of Geosciences. Seismometer arrays are commonly used in geophysics, seismology, and engineering to study the propagation of seismic waves, detect and study their sources, and assess properties of the Earth's interior at various depths. The vast majority of seismometer arrays to date have been surface-based due to the ease of installation. This project will build and operate a dense, underground, three-dimensional array of 13 high-sensitivity broadband seismometers. The array will be located at the Homestake mine, SD, whose accessible depth of 4850 feet and vast horizontal span allow probing a 1-mile underground cube. Bringing together the existing techniques in gravitational physics and geophysics for analysis of transient and stochastic wave signals, this project is expected to give rise to qualitatively new seismic data analysis techniques. Importantly, results of these studies will also have a profound impact on the design of future underground experiments in gravitational physics, such as probes of the Equivalence Principle of Einstein's theory of relativity. Future underground gravitational-wave detectors that will observe otherwise inaccessible signatures of various astrophysical phenomena and of the Big Bang will also be designed based on the seismic noise studies conducted within this project.This project will enable interactions between the geophysics and gravitational physics communities that would be of substantial mutual benefit. Since the future of gravity experiments is arguably underground, it is critical for the gravitational physics community to draw from the large body of knowledge in geophysics on seismic noise and seismic wave propagation. By allowing a team of physicists and geophysicists to work together on the analysis of this unique high-quality data in a mutually interesting environment, this project will lead to breakthroughs in seismic noise tomography. Such breakthroughs will have a broad range of applications and societal implications, ranging from nondestructive material testing to medical diagnosis, geophysical prospecting (detecting mineral deposits and oil), and homeland security (detecting underground cavities). The project will also educate several graduate and undergraduate students, exposing them to the frontiers of research at the intersection of the fields of geophysics and gravitational physics.

该 INSPIRE 奖的部分资金来自数学和物理科学局物理司的 LIGO 研究支持计划以及地球科学局地球科学司的地球物理学计划。 地震仪阵列通常用于地球物理学、地震学和工程学中，用于研究地震波的传播、检测和研究其震源以及评估地球内部不同深度的特性。由于易于安装，迄今为止绝大多数地震仪阵列都是基于地面的。该项目将建造并运行一个由 13 个高灵敏度宽带地震仪组成的密集地下三维阵列。该阵列将位于南达科他州 Homestake 矿，其可探测深度为 4850 英尺，水平跨度巨大，可以探测 1 英里的地下立方体。该项目将重力物理学和地球物理学的现有技术结合起来，用于分析瞬态波和随机波信号，预计将产生全新的地震数据分析技术。重要的是，这些研究结果还将对未来引力物理地下实验的设计产生深远的影响，例如爱因斯坦相对论等效原理的探测器。未来的地下引力波探测器将观察各种天体物理现象和大爆炸的其他无法到达的特征，也将根据该项目中进行的地震噪声研究进行设计。该项目将实现地球物理学和引力物理学界之间的相互作用，具有实质性的互惠互利。由于重力实验的未来可以说是在地下进行的，因此重力物理学界从地球物理学中关于地震噪声和地震波传播的大量知识中汲取知识至关重要。通过让物理学家和地球物理学家团队在共同感兴趣的环境中共同分析这种独特的高质量数据，该项目将在地震噪声层析成像方面取得突破。这些突破将具有广泛的应用和社会影响，从无损材料测试到医学诊断、地球物理勘探（探测矿藏和石油）和国土安全（探测地下洞穴）。该项目还将教育几名研究生和本科生，让他们接触地球物理学和引力物理学领域交叉领域的研究前沿。