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Satellite Data for Atmospheric Monitoring at the Pierre Auger ObservatoryA. Puyleart,
Andrej Filipčič,
Jon Paul Lundquist,
Samo Stanič,
Serguei Vorobiov,
Danilo Zavrtanik,
Marko Zavrtanik,
Lukas Zehrer, 2022, published scientific conference contribution
Abstract: Atmospheric monitoring over the 3000 km^2 of the Pierre Auger Observatory can be supplemented by satellite data. Methods for night-time cloud detection and aerosol cross-checking were created using the GOES-16 and Aeolus satellites, respectively. The geostationary GOES-16 satellite provides a 100% up-time view of the cloud cover over the observatory. GOES-13 was used until the end of 2017 for cloud monitoring, but with its retirement a method based on GOES-16 data was developed. The GOES-16 cloud detection method matches the observatory’s vertical laser cloud detection method at a rate of ∼90%. The Aeolus satellite crosses the Pierre Auger Observatory several times throughout the year firing UV-laser shots. The laser beams leave a track of scattered light in the atmosphere that can be observed by the light sensors of the observatory fluorescence telescopes. Using a parametric model of the aerosol concentration, the laser shots can be reconstructed with different combinations of the aerosol parameters. A minimization procedure then yields the parameter set that best describes the aerosol attenuation. Furthermore, the possibility of studying horizontal homogeneity of aerosols across the array is being investigated.
Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, indirect detection, fluorescence detection, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, atmospheric monitoring, satellite monitoring, cloud detection, aerosols, UV laser shots
Published in RUNG: 04.10.2023; Views: 771; Downloads: 6
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