Speaker
Erwin Flückiger
(University of Bern, Switzerland)
Description
Neutron Monitors (NM) have been in continuous operation in a global network since the International Geophysical Year (IGY) 1957/58. Their main purpose is the ground-based observation of temporal fluctuations in the low GeV part of the energy spectrum of cosmic ray particles hitting the Earth's atmosphere. The focus in the use of NM data has however significantly changed over time, from fundamental astrophysical research in the past to applications in the space weather era, and more recently in the domains of environmental metrology as well as geotechnical and agricultural engineering. In this process, the establishment of the real-time database NMDB was essential, and its continued operation is of utmost importance.
