New cosmic ray observations at Syowa Station in the Antarctic for space weather study

TL;DR

This paper reports on the installation and operation of muon detectors and neutron monitors at Syowa Station in Antarctica, providing new data on cosmic ray interactions and their atmospheric effects for space weather research.

Contribution

It introduces a new observational setup at Syowa Station that simultaneously measures different secondary cosmic ray particles, enhancing space weather studies.

Findings

Muon data shows seasonal atmospheric temperature effects.

Data is consistent with other global cosmic ray observations.

Real-time data is now accessible online.

Abstract

Muon detectors and neutron monitors were recently installed at Syowa Station, in the Antarctic, to observe different types of secondary particles resulting from cosmic ray interactions simultaneously from the same location. Continuing observations will give new insight into the response of muon detectors to atmospheric and geomagnetic effects. Operation began in February, 2018 and the system has been stable with a duty-cycle exceeding 94%. Muon data shows a clear seasonal variation, which is expected from the atmospheric temperature effect. We verified successful operation by showing that the muon and neutron data are consistent with those from other locations by comparing intensity variations during a space weather event. We have established a web page to make real time data available with interactive graphics (http://polaris.nipr.ac.jp/~cosmicrays/).