2022-2023 USAP Field Season
Project Detail Project TitleIceCube Upgrade: An IceCube extension for precision neutrino physics and astrophysics Summary
Event Number:
Program Manager:
ASC POC/Implementer: Principal Investigator(s)
Dr. Kael Dylan Hanson
Location
Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station, South Pole Station DescriptionLeveraging the experience of the IceCube collaboration and the currently operating infrastructure of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a five-year project is proposed to advance the state of the art in multimessenger astronomy with neutrinos and improve on the ability of IceCube to make a unique measurement of the unitarity of the PMNS (Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata) matrix. This award, the IceCube Gen2 Phase 1 extension, will fund the deployment of seven additional strings of photon sensors at the bottom center of IceCube. The new strings will use multiple photomultiplier tube (PMT) Digital Optical Modules (mDOMs) that provide better directionality and more than double the photocathode area per module, at lower cost per unit area, than traditional IceCube DOMs. Field Season OverviewIceCube Upgrade (ICU) will not deploy any team members to Antarctica during the 2022-2023 season. McMurdo Station support requirements are primarily related to cargo movement - receiving and storing Vessel cargo, South Pole Overland Traverse Staging Area (SPOTSA) site maintenance and on-continent transport from McMurdo Station to South Pole Station on the South Pole Overland Traverse (SPOT). South Pole Station support requirements include drill pad and road preparation, surveying hole and trench locations, cargo and fuel transport to station, equipment and generator maintenance and construction of electrical infrastructure for winter-over heating of components during the 2025 winter. |