Method of automatic correction of neutron monitor data for precipitation in the form of snow in real time

Abstract

We have carried out an experimental study of the influence of precipitation in the form of snow on measurements of the neutron flux intensity near Earth's surface. We have examined the state of the snow cover and its density, and found out that the density depends on the depth of the snow cover. Using the experimental results, we estimate the neutron absorption path in the snow. Changes in snow cover by 10–12 cm at a depth of 80 cm are shown to cause variations in the monitor count rate with an amplitude of 0.9 %. At the snow depth of 80 cm, the neutron monitor count rate decreases by about 8 %. The observed variations should be attributed to the meteorological effects of cosmic rays. The absorption coefficient of neutrons in the snow was also found from the correlation between the count rate of the neutron monitor and the amount of snow above the detector. We propose a real-time correction of the neutron monitor data for precipitation in the form of snow. For this purpose, we implement continuous monitoring of the amount of snow cover. The monitoring is provided by a snow meter made using a laser rangefinder module. We discuss the results obtained.