| In the framework of the 3-year KM3NeT Design Study the scientific and technical design issues related to a future cubic-kilometre sized deep-sea infrastructure housing a next-generation neutrino telescope and providing long-term access for deep-sea research is assessed. The major deliverable of the Design Study is a technical design report (TDR) for the envisaged infrastructure. Legal, governance and political aspects are addressed in parallel with the scientific and technical work. The consortium performing the Design Study consists of 25 participants from Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom, amongst them all institutes involved in the existing pilot projects in the Mediterranean Sea (ANTARES, NEMO, NESTOR) and several institutes specialised in deep-sea technology and science. The work to be performed in the Design Study is structured in nine work packages (WPs): WP1 is devoted to the management of the Design Study and its overall coordination. WP2 is concerned with evaluating the physics sensitivity of the neutrino telescope depending on its geometry, the site parameters and the component characteristics and will provide input for sensitivity optimisation with respect to cost. WP3 addresses the design of the photo sensor modules, the mechanical structures and the calibration system, whereas WP4 covers data acquisition, transport and online processing. In WP5 the site characteristics, the sea-bottom infrastructure, the deep-sea and deployment operations and the shore facilities are studied. Possibilities to use floating platforms for deployment and calibration purposes are investigated in WP6. In WP7, an appropriate quality assurance programme for the future construction of the infrastructure is developed and risk assessment studies are performed. The funding, legal, governance and political aspects are pursued in WP8. |
