Project Title

Management and operations of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory 2021-2026

Summary

Event Number:
A-333-S
NSF / OPP Award 2042807

Program Director:
Dr. Marion Dierickx

ASC POC/Implementer:
Paul Sullivan / Sheryl Seagraves / Leah Street

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Francis Halzen
halzen@icecube.wisc.edu
University of Wisconsin Madison
Department of Physics
Madison, Wisconsin

Project Web Site:
https://icecube.wisc.edu/

Location

Supporting Stations: South Pole Station
Research Locations: South Pole (Dark Sector)

Description

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory (ICNO) is located at South Pole Station in the deep ice. The ICNO’s Management and Operations (M&O) core team of researchers and engineers maintains the existing neutrino detector infrastructure at South Pole and the home institution, guaranteeing an uninterrupted stream of scientifically unique, high-quality data. M&O activities build on more than a decade of experience successfully managing the overall ICNO operations, after completing the National Science Foundation-funded major research facility IceCube project, where hardware and software systems were developed and deployed by the core team on schedule and within budget.

Effective coordination of efforts by M&O personnel and from within the IceCube Collaboration has yielded significant increases in the performance of this cubic-kilometer detector with time. The broader impacts of the ICNO/M&O activities are strong, involving postdoctoral researchers and students in the daily operation and calibration of the neutrino detector. The extraordinary data from the ICNO and its South Pole neighborhood will strike the imagination of high school students and the public worldwide.

Field Season Overview

Critical tasking for IceCube M&O in 2025-26 will include winter-over turnover and training, archival data disk replacement, IceTop installation measurements, and routine software updates and security patches. Antarctic Support Contract support will be provided for snow maintenance around the IceCube Laboratory, cargo deliveries, horizontal monitoring survey of IceTop installations, fabrication of IceTop marker pole extensions, and general station and information technology support. Shared workspace and remote access will also be provided to IceCube grantees as needed while they are in transit through McMurdo Station. IceCube M&O personnel will also support IceCube Upgrade efforts, with general support for the drill and installation teams and device verification, commissioning, calibration, and integration into the IceCube data acquisition systems.

Deploying Team Members