From the Geosphere to the Cosmos
15 December 2010
The goal of this workshop was to invite the scientific communities and the funding agencies to discuss how these synergies can be promoted and encouraged for the development of science and to the benefit of society, at the image of the relation between nuclear and particle physics and medicine since the middle of the twentieth century.
DEEP OCEAN CABLED OBSERVATORIES
Cabled observatories provide marine scientists with a large number of opportunities previously completely unavailable. In the workshop that took place in NIKHEF, Amsterdam (Netherlands) on 24 and 25 May 2012, marine scientists (geoscientists, biologists, oceanographers, etc.) and astroparticle physicists jointly discussed current and future research options using deep ocean cabled observatories, the future of ocean research.
Some of the current cabled observatories were constructed specifically for ocean research. Others, such as the three pilot neutrino detectors – ANTARES, NEMO and NESTOR – in the Mediterranean deep sea, have been built by astroparticle physicists in order to search for cosmic neutrinos. In both cases, these observatories have led to major scientific breakthroughs in their respective fields.
Just before the start of construction of the first phase of KM3NeT, the cubic-kilometre sized neutrino detector in the Mediterranean Sea (an ESFRI infrastructure), ASPERA considered it vital to open the floor for extensive discussions among scientists from different disciplines, all working around deep sea cabled observatories. The first day of the workshop was dedicated to current research that uses the cabled detectors in the Mediterranean, but also to the global perspective, to research carried out in cabled observatories in Canada and the United States. The second day was dedicated to the future. What scientific questions could be answered thanks to collaborations around cabled observatories in the Mediterranean and beyond?
UNDERGROUND SYNERGIES WITH ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICS
An ASPERA-funded two-day workshop reviewing current and future studies and opportunities in multidisciplinary deep underground science took place in Durham in December 2012.
For decades astroparticle and particle physics experiments needing an ultra-low background environment have been operated deep underground where the rock overhead provides a shield against interference from cosmic rays. The growth of astroparticle physics has resulted in small but growing number of deep underground science facilities in Europe and around the world. In recent years in has become clear the special environments provided by these facilities is of interest to other areas of science, beyond astro-particle physics to areas such as Earth and environmental sciences, geology, geophysics, climatology, biology and astrobiology.
The workshop showcased the synergies between underground astroparticle physics infrastructures and the opportunities they provide to address a wide range of multidisciplinary science challenges. The event will bring together scientists, decision makers and industry to highlight and identify underground science synergies; and address the scientific, administrative and funding challenges faced by multi-disciplinary scientists when trying to collaborate together and with industry. The workshop was held in the historic city of Durham in the North East of the UK. Durham University, the UK’s Boulby Deep Underground Science Facility and the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council are proud to be the local hosts of the workshop.
INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE ON THE GROUND
On 18 and 19 April 2011, the IS@AO (Interdisciplinary Science at the Auger Observatory) workshop took place in Cambridge (UK), to allow the community to focus on the multidisciplinary aspects of research taking place at the Pierre Auger Observatory. In this workshop (not organised by APPEC), research on thunderstorms, clouds, lightning and earthquakes were presented.