| ABSTRACT: |
The US National Science Foundation is conducting a site-selection process for a new underground national laboratory. DUSEL (Deep Underground Science and Engineering Lab) will host research on a wide variety of topics, including physics (neutrino and nucleon decay experiments, dark matter searches), geosciences (the hydrological cycle, rock mechanics, rock-water chemistry, deep seismic observatory), engineering (methods to construct deep tunnels and caverns, to store fuels and wastes, possibly to sequester greenhouse gases), and biology (search for exotic forms of life that could inhabit hostile environments). Last July, NSF announced the two finalists in the site selection process: the Homestake Mine in South Dakota, and the Henderson Mine, in Colorado. Each must submit a detailed proposal by next June. While the Homestake Mine is quite familiar to physicists, as site of the pioneering experiments of Ray Davis et al, the Henderson Mine is a relatively new entry in the list of candidates. I will describe the Henderson mine and its advantages as an underground laboratory site, and also discuss some of the physics that may be done in DUSEL, wherever it may be built.
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