The final components of the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO), including its foundation, silver geodesic dome, and on-site buildings, have been removed from a valley atop Maunakea in Hawai'i, and the land at the site has been restored. This officially concludes the physical decommissioning of CSO, a process that was initiated in 2015 and began in earnest in 2022 in accordance with the State of Hawai'i's 2010 Decommissioning Plan for the Maunakea Observatories. For the next three years, the site will be monitored to document passive natural repopulation by summit flora and fauna and the results reported.
"The physical site decommissioning was undertaken with great care by our prime deconstruction contractor, with constant oversight by local cultural, archeological, environmental, and construction monitors as well as the Center for Maunakea Stewardship (CMS)," says Caltech physics professor and CSO Director Sunil Golwala.
