The Effect of Tornadic Supercell Thunderstorms on the Atmospheric Muon Flux

TL;DR

This study explores the potential of using atmospheric muon flux measurements to remotely detect pressure variations in tornado-producing supercell thunderstorms, addressing instrumentation challenges in severe weather monitoring.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method combining atmospheric and cosmic ray simulations to remotely measure pressure fields in tornado environments.

Findings

Muon flux variations correlate with atmospheric pressure changes.

Remote sensing of tornado dynamics becomes feasible with muon detection.

Potential for improved tornado monitoring and early warning systems.

Abstract

Tornadoes are severe weather phenomena characterized by a violently rotating column of air connecting the ground to a parent storm. Within the United States, hundreds of tornadoes occur every year. Despite this, the dynamics of tornado formation and propagation are not particularly well understood, in part due to the challenge of instrumentation: many existing instruments for measuring atmospheric properties are in-situ detectors, making deployment in or near an active or developing tornado difficult. Here, we combine local atmospheric and cosmic ray air shower simulation to explore the potential for remote measurement of the pressure field within tornado-producing supercell thunderstorms by examining directional variations of the atmospheric muon flux.