Testing Muography for Subsurface Geophysical Surveys at the Lousal Mine

  • Sofia Andringa Laboratorio de Instrumentaao e Fısica Experimental de Partıculas (LIP), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 2, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
  • Luis Afonso Laboratorio de Instrumentaao e Fısica Experimental de Partıculas (LIP), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 2, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
  • Isabel Alexandre Laboratorio de Instrumentaao e Fısica Experimental de Partıculas (LIP), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 2, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
  • Pedro Assis Laboratorio de Instrumentaao e Fısica Experimental de Partıculas (LIP), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 2, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
  • Alberto Blanco Laboratorio de Instrumentaaao e Fısica Experimental de Partıculas (LIP), Departamento de Fısica (DF), Universidade de Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-516 Coimbra, Portugal
  • Mourad Bezzeghoud Departamento de Fısica (ECT), Instituto de Ciencias da Terra (ICT/IFFA), Earth Remote Sensing Laboratory (EaRSLab), Universidade de Evora, Rua Romao Ramalho n.59, 7000-671 Evora, Portugal
  • Jose Borges Departamento de Fısica (ECT), Instituto de Ciencias da Terra (ICT/IFFA), Earth Remote Sensing Laboratory (EaRSLab), Universidade de Evora, Rua Romao Ramalho n.59, 7000-671 Evora, Portugal
  • Bento Caldeira Departamento de Fısica (ECT), Instituto de Ciencias da Terra (ICT/IFFA), Earth Remote Sensing Laboratory (EaRSLab), Universidade de Evora, Rua Romao Ramalho n.59, 7000-671 Evora, Portugal
  • Lorenzo Cazon Instituto Galego de Fısica de Altas Enerxıas (IGFAE), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Rua Xoaquın Dıas de Rabago, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
  • Joao Costa Mina de Ciencia - Centro Ciencia Viva do Lousal, Av. Frederic Velge, 7570-006 Lousal, Portugal
  • Paolo Dobrilla Laboratorio de Instrumentaaao e Fısica Experimental de Partıculas (LIP), Departamento de Fısica (DF), Universidade de Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-516 Coimbra, Portugal
  • Magda Duarte Laboratorio de Instrumentacao e Fısica Experimental de Partıculas (LIP), Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, CP3, 3.02, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
  • Josue Figueira Departamento de Fısica (ECT), Instituto de Ciencias da Terra (ICT/IFFA), Earth Remote Sensing Laboratory (EaRSLab), Universidade de Evora, Rua Romao Ramalho n.59, 7000-671 Evora, Portugal
  • Ines Hamak Departamento de Fısica (ECT), Instituto de Ciencias da Terra (ICT/IFFA), Earth Remote Sensing Laboratory (EaRSLab), Universidade de Evora, Rua Romao Ramalho n.59, 7000-671 Evora, Portugal
  • Luıs Lopes Laboratorio de Instrumentaaao e Fısica Experimental de Partıculas (LIP), Departamento de Fısica (DF), Universidade de Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-516 Coimbra, Portugal
  • Joao Matos Laboratorio Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), Campus de Aljustrel, Bairro da Vale dOca, Apartado 14, 7601-909 Aljustrel, Portugal
  • Rui Oliveira Departamento de Fısica (ECT), Instituto de Ciencias da Terra (ICT/IFFA), Earth Remote Sensing Laboratory (EaRSLab), Universidade de Evora, Rua Romao Ramalho n.59, 7000-671 Evora, Portugal
  • Vanessa Pais Mina de Ciencia - Centro Ciencia Viva do Lousal, Av. Frederic Velge, 7570-006 Lousal, Portugal
  • Mario Pimenta Laboratorio de Instrumentaao e Fısica Experimental de Partıculas (LIP), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 2, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
  • Joao Saraiva Laboratorio de Instrumentaaao e Fısica Experimental de Partıculas (LIP), Departamento de Fısica (DF), Universidade de Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-516 Coimbra, Portugal
  • Raul Sarmento Laboratorio de Instrumentacao e Fısica Experimental de Partıculas (LIP), Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, CP3, 3.02, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
  • Jorge Francisco Silva Laboratorio de Instrumentaaao e Fısica Experimental de Partıculas (LIP), Departamento de Fısica (DF), Universidade de Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-516 Coimbra, Portugal
  • Pedro Teixeira Departamento de Fısica (ECT), Instituto de Ciencias da Terra (ICT/IFFA), Earth Remote Sensing Laboratory (EaRSLab), Universidade de Evora, Rua Romao Ramalho n.59, 7000-671 Evora, Portugal
  • Bernardo Tome Laboratorio de Instrumentaao e Fısica Experimental de Partıculas (LIP), Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 2, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
Keywords: muography, mine gallery, geological fault, RPC detectors

Abstract

The LouMu collaboration was established between the Laboratory of Instrumentation and Experimental
Particle Physics (LIP), the Institute of Earth Sciences (ICT), and the Ciencia Viva Center of Lousal, to create ˆ
the conditions for the use of muography as a novel method for subsurface geophysical surveys in Portugal,
starting with an end-to-end test at the Lousal Mine. The exploitation of the Lousal Mine, located in the
Iberian Pyrite Belt, ended in 1988, and it was then rehabilitated as the core of a science center. An 18-
meter-deep gallery was kept accessible, allowing the operation of a muon telescope. Detailed surveys of
the gallery and surroundings were done to help establish the muography targets and interpret the first
results. In April 2022, the muon telescope was installed at Lousal and soon obtained the image of the
first geological target: the Corona geological fault crossing the gallery. The analysis proceeds with the
development of the methods for translating these into local density maps and for combined inversion of
muography with other datasets. The aim is not only to provide the best knowledge on Lousal, but also to
prepare for other geophysical surveys.

Published
2024-02-22
How to Cite
[1]
S. Andringa, “Testing Muography for Subsurface Geophysical Surveys at the Lousal Mine”, Journal of Advanced Instrumentation in Science, vol. 2024, no. 1, Feb. 2024.
Section
International Workshop on Cosmic-Ray Muography (Muography2023), Naples, Italy