Atmospheric Variations as observed by IceCube

TL;DR

IceCube detects atmospheric variations through correlations between muon rates and stratospheric temperature changes, providing insights into ozone layer dynamics and seasonal atmospheric effects at the South Pole.

Contribution

This study is the first to link IceCube muon and surface detector rates with detailed stratospheric temperature variations and ozone layer dynamics.

Findings

High correlation between deep muon rates and middle stratosphere temperatures.

Surface detector rates negatively correlate with lower stratosphere temperatures.

IceCube effectively probes ozone layer changes and atmospheric temperature variations.

Abstract

We have measured the correlation of rates in IceCube with long and short term variations in the South Pole atmosphere. The yearly temperature variation in the middle stratosphere (30-60 hPa) is highly correlated with the high energy muon rate observed deep in the ice, and causes a +/-10% seasonal modulation in the event rate. The counting rates of the surface detectors, which are due to secondary particles of relatively low energy (muons, electrons and photons), have a negative correlation with temperatures in the lower layers of the stratosphere (40-80 hPa), and are modulated at a level of +/-5%. The region of the atmosphere between pressure levels 20-120 hPa, where the first cosmic ray interactions occur and the produced pions/kaons interact or decay to muons, is the Antarctic ozone layer. The anticorrelation between surface and deep ice trigger rates reflects the properties of pion/kaon decay and interaction as the density of the stratospheric ozone layer changes. Therefore, IceCube closely probes the ozone hole dynamics, and the temporal behavior of the stratospheric temperatures.