Earth science at the UK's deepest laboratory

Abstract

Deep below the coast of North Yorkshire, UK, scientists are conducting world-class research into elusive dark matter and life on other planets, and are using the products of exploding stars to combat climate change and revolutionize how we monitor the storage of CO2 emitted from industry. Boulby Underground Laboratory is hosted within Boulby Mine, the deepest active mine in the UK. Funded by the UK government through the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the laboratory sits within a tunnel hewn from halite at a depth of 1100 m. Originally built for research into particle and astrophysics, recent years have seen a move unprecedented among similar facilities around the world—a significant expansion of research into a wide variety of other scientific fields. Today, Earth science research at Boulby includes Muon tomography for monitoring deep carbon sequestration, ultra-low-background gamma spectroscopy, studies of life in extreme environments, and developing Mars rover equipment to analyse Martian geology.