Deep underground laboratories have proven fertile ground for research and discovery. A growing network of underground research labs around the world are driving research in astroparticle physics and rare event searches, life sciences, and, more recently, quantum technology.
A new compendium of papers titled Science and technology in deep underground laboratories curated by directors of four leading underground labs and published by Frontiers details the depth and breadth of this research infrastructure underfoot.
There are 13 underground labs ranging in depth from a few hundred metres to a few kilometres operating in Australia, North America, Europe, and Asia. Others are under construction or planned in South Africa, India, and South America. As this network of underground labs grows, a new sphere of research with opportunities and challenges specific to underground science is emerging.
The main reason to do science underground is to take advantage of very low radioactive environments where muons from cosmic rays are strongly suppressed. This singular environment opens the possibility to search for very rare events such as low energy neutrino interactions, dark matter direct detection, life sciences, and neutrinoless double beta decay, crucial to enhance our understanding of the Universe. Other applications include utilizing the subterranean environment for planetary and geological research.
This Frontiers Research Topic collects contributions based on several themes: the construction of and safety within underground laboratories; designing, building, and maintaining infrastructure specific to underground labs and underground science; the variety of studies on geology, geophysics, biology and planetary exploration of significant interest and impact in both pure and applied science; the development of a diverse pool of Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) in underground science; and the communication and education & outreach efforts of underground science.
“Deep Underground Laboratories provide an opportunity to showcase the extensive multi-disciplinary research and innovation that has evolved in this unique environment.”
- Jeter Hall, Director of Research at SNOLAB in Canada.
“The growing international demand for research in Deep Underground Laboratories’ broadly varies from experiments searching for the origin of matter in the Universe to exploring life in cosmic silence.”
- Carlos P. Garay, Director of Spain’s Canfranc Underground Laboratory.
“The world’s Deep Underground Laboratories are truly special places for science. World-leading particle physics studies are undertaken here; searches for Dark Matter, studies of neutrinos and beyond. Beyond this though the science areas using underground labs has dramatically grown – to now include ground-breaking pure and applied studies in physics, biology, Earth sciences, planetary exploration and more.”
- Sean Paling, Director & Senior Scientist at Boulby Underground Laboratory in the United Kingdom.
“Deep underground laboratories play an important role in astroparticle physics studies shedding light on many important physics challenges. Results obtained in the past produced fundamental impacts in particles and nuclear physics. We are now facing a new phase designing next generation experiments to reach important goals like dark matter discovery and neutrinoless double beta decay measurement.”
- Ezio Previtali, Director of Italy’s Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso.
REIS - 24.04.25