National Science Foundation funds research project at Homestake

Even before the excitement has died down from the announcement that the National Science Foundation had chosen Lead for the new national underground science laboratory comes news that a local geological engineer and his colleagues were approved for a $450,000 experiment at the mine.

“A group of me and four of my colleagues went together and wrote a proposal to the National Science Foundation, and we ended up getting it,” Bill Roggenthen, co-principal investigator of the project and professor of geological engineering at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, said Wednesday.

Roggenthen said that the three-year, $450,000 project was approved Sunday and will begin in the fall. “What we will be doing is to test how much improvement you get with a 3D array of seismometers in terms of sensitivity. It’s my hope that we are able to advance the field of seismology and our understanding of the deep interior of the Earth,” he said.

Seismology is the study of earthquakes and their effects, and seismometers are the instruments that measure them.

Roggenthen said that Homestake was a perfect fit because of its unique structure. “This project can just be done much easier at Homestake, primarily because it has great access,” Roggenthen said. “And with a 3D array, you need to be able to distribute the seismometers throughout the area, and with Homestake, that access is possible.” The project will be the first of its kind in the world and hopefully, Roggenthen said, will become a unique part of the mine’s facilities.

IMHO this is an interesting and elegant experimental setup. I wish I could work on it myelf!