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Successfully operating in a deep underground space requires the mitigation of two factors: air and water.
Adequate airflow is needed for workers to survive in the tunnels and shafts far below the surface. Additionally, water that percolates down from rainfall or that flows in at any intersections to aquifers must be pumped out.
Large underground operations, like mines, often have whole teams of engineers and technicians that specialize in air and water flow. This is also true for a scientific laboratory like the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF). Mining does not occur at SURF today, but mining engineers are still vital for the safe operation of underground tunnels and shafts that make up the vast facility.
At SURF, the ventilation system is led by Jason Connot, a mining engineer who has worked at the facility since 2019. Connot and others noticed something strange about underground airflow patterns during periods of heavy rain—sometimes they moved backwards.
