Open call -menettelyn suunnittelu Pyhäsalmen kaivoksen maanalaisiin tiloihin sijoitettavista tieteellisistä kokeista

Abstract The Pyhäsalmi mine and the surrounding brownfield area offer the unique infrastructure and a wealth of opportunities for a variety of scientific and commercial purposes. It already hosts successful EMMA and C14 experiments, and has been thoroughly studied and noted as the most prominent location in Europe to host very large-scale particle physic experiments. There is a strong demand for the underground spaces around the world. By using the open call, it is possible to invite scientific and commercial actors to locate their experiments, pilots, and operations to the Pyhäsalmi Mine area to utilize the world-class infrastructure. We propose two active ways to carry out the actual open call, and we also present a detailed plans to execute them within maximum of two years time span, 2015–17. The procedures differs on the basis of the stage of the maturity of the proposal/ project/ experiment plans. The third way to carry out the process is passive marketing. Despite the selected procedures some actions has to be carried out prior to carrying out the open call -process: 1) To establish the board to evaluate to upcoming proposals, 2) to define the potential spaces in the mine and prepare the marketing material, 3) to survey the possible users in different fields, 4) to define the selection criteria, and 5) to ask for Letter of Intents from different users. In addition to these we suggest to establish/select the legal entity to execute all these actions. Open call procedure of use of underground facilities of Pyhäsalmi Mine for scientific purposes report is ordered by Nivala-Haapajärven seutu Nihak ry. Open call actions have been promoted since 2015 according to this report. This study and plan have been useful in concretizing and promoting the open call process.Tiivistelmä Pyhäsalmen kaivoksen ympäristö tarjoaa ainutlaatuisen infrastruktuurin ja ympäristön erilaiselle niin kaupalliselle kuin tieteellisellekin toiminnalle. Kaivosympäristöön on rakennettu EMMA ja C14 -kokeet muun toiminnan ohella. Kaivosympäristö on lisäksi tutkittu hyvin tarkkaan ja sitä on pidetty parhaana sijoituspaikkana myös suurelle hiukkasfysiikan kokeelle. Maanalaisista tiloista on suuri tarve maailmalla, sillä olemassa olevat tilat ovat täynnä. Open call -menettelyllä on mahdollista kutsua tieteellisiä ja kaupallisiakin toimijoita sijoittamaan kokeensa tai toimintansa Pyhäsalmen kaivoksen tiloihin hyödyntämään erinomaista infrastruktuuria. Open call -menettelyselvityksessä on esitelty kaksi erilaista toimintatapaa uusien kokeiden hankkimiseksi. Samalla on esitetty aikataulusuunnitelma toimien toteuttamiseksi. Yhtenä ympäristön markkinointikeinona on esitelty myös passiivinen markkinointi. Toiminnan kehittämisen ja open call -prosessin eteenpäin viemisen edellytyksenä on: 1) Arviointiryhmän kokoaminen esitysten arvioimiseksi, 2) sopivien toimitilojen kartoittaminen kaivosympäristössä ja markkinointimateriaalin luominen, 3) eri alojen toimijoiden kartoittaminen, 4) arvosteluperusteiden määrittäminen ja 5) aiesopimuksen laatiminen toimijoiden kanssa. Toimien toteuttamiseksi ja jatkotoiminnan kehittämiseksi on suositeltu perustaa kiinteistöyhtiö tai vastaava, jonka tehtävänä on myös hallinnoida ja perustaa uusia tiloja tarpeiden mukaisesti. Open call -menettelyn suunnittelu Pyhäsalmen kaivoksen maanalaisiin tiloihin sijoitettavista tieteellisistä kokeista -selvitys on toteutettu Nivala-Haapajärven seutukunnan tilauksesta. Toimia on edistetty vuodesta 2015 alkaen tämän suunnitelman mukaisesti. Selvityksestä on ollut hyötyä kokonaisuuden konkretisoinnissa ja toimien eteenpäin viemisessä

Plans for the future scientific activities in the Pyhäsalmi mine

Abstract The Pyhäsalmi Mine is approximately 1,400 metres deep metal mine at Pyhäjärvi, Finland. This one of the deepest mine offers unique facilities and underground infrastructure for several purposes. For the exploitation of the infrastructure after the end of underground excavations there are plans to establish a Science and Research Centre in the mine. Different international studies and reports have proven that the Pyhäsalmi Mine area is an excellent site for underground physics experiments from both technical, infrastructural and scientifical point of view [1]. This feasibility has been shown, for example, by the extended site investigations at Pyhäsalmi Mine [2] which included, among others, analyses of the structural, physical and chemical conditions of the rock mass. The facilities of the mine are excellent, for example, for various kind of physics experiments due to the large rock overburden, but also for other fields of science. Therefore, during 2015 an open call process will be organized in which new experiments looked for to utilize the underground facilities. In this work we present plans for the future activities in the Pyhäsalmi Mine

Measuring the ¹⁴C content in liquid scintillators

Abstract In order to detect low-energy neutrinos, for example the solar neutrinos from the ppchain (with the maximum neutrino energy of approximately 400 keV) requires that the intrinsic ¹⁴C content in a liquid scintillator is at extremely low level. In the Borexino detector, a 300-ton liquid scintillation detector at Gran Sasso, Italy, the ratio of ¹⁴C to ¹²C of approximately 2 × 10⁻¹⁸ has been achieved. It is the lowest value ever measured. The detector situates underground at the depth of 3200 mwe (1200 m). ¹⁴C cannot be removed from liquid scintillators by chemical methods, or by other methods in large quantities (liters). In principle, the older is the oil or gas source that the liquid scintillator is made of and the deeper it situates, the smaller should be the ¹⁴C-to-¹²C ratio. This, however, is not generally the case, and the ratio depends on the activity (U and Th content) in the environment of the source. We have started a series of measurements where the ¹⁴C-to-¹²C ratio will be measured from liquid scintillator samples. The measurements take place in two underground laboratories: in the Pyhäsalmi mine, Finland, at the depth of 4000 mwe (1400 meters) and at the Baksan Underground Laboratory, Russia at 4800 mwe, for reducing and better understanding systematical uncertainties. There will be about ten samples with the known origin, each of them 2 litres. The liquid scintillator vessel, light quides and low-active PMTs will be shielded with thick layers copper and lead. Nitrogen flow is used to reduce the radon background. The aim is to measure ratios smaller than 10⁻¹⁸, if such samples exists. One measurement takes several weeks