Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2012) 127: 97
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2012-12097-7

Regular Article

Atmospheric aerosols at the Pierre Auger Observatory and environmental implications

¹ Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et de Cosmologie (LPSC), UJF-INPG, CNRS/IN2P3, Grenoble, France
² Laboratoire de l’Accélérateur Linéaire (LAL), Univ Paris Sud, CNRS/IN2P3, Orsay, France
³ Observatorio Pierre Auger, Av. San Martín Norte 304, 5613, Malargüe, Argentina
⁴ Laboratoire Inter-universitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), Université Paris-Est Créteil, Université Paris Diderot, CNRS/INSU, Créteil, France

^* e-mail: karim.louedec@lpsc.in2p3.fr

Received: 27 July 2012
Accepted: 27 July 2012
Published online: 29 August 2012

Abstract

The Pierre Auger Observatory detects the highest energy cosmic rays. Calorimetric measurements of extensive air showers induced by cosmic rays are performed with a fluorescence detector. Thus, one of the main challenges is the atmospheric monitoring, especially for aerosols in suspension in the atmosphere. Several methods are described which have been developed to measure the aerosol optical depth profile and aerosol phase function, using lasers and other light sources as recorded by the fluorescence detector. The origin of atmospheric aerosols traveling through the Auger site is also presented, highlighting the effect of surrounding areas to atmospheric properties. In the aim to extend the Pierre Auger Observatory to an atmospheric research platform, a discussion about a collaborative project is presented.