11:00 am–12:00 pm ERC 401
Title: Putting Muon Detectors Near Tornadoes (and Other Adventures in Astroparticle Meteorology)”
Abstract: Astroparticle physics and meteorology: two fields that have almost nothing in common...or do they?
Current meteorological instrumentation is incapable of directly measuring atmospheric density over large volumes. Existing techniques rely on in-situ devices either placed on the ground or launched with balloons, limiting our ability to characterize local atmospheric conditions. Astroparticle physics may hold a solution to this problem via atmospheric muons. The atmospheric muon flux is known to be proportional to the local atmospheric density field, implying that this technique can be used as a remote, wide field of view measurement of atmospheric parameters. Previous studies have demonstrated the application of this technique to typhoons off the coast of Japan, however extensions to other weather systems have yet to be explored. This talk will discuss atmospheric muography in the context of tornadic supercell thunderstorms, including both past simulation studies as well as future plans for muon detector deployment in the summer of 2025. The potential for incorporating muographic information into Ensemble Data Assimilation pipelines is also presented, demonstrating the possibility for novel improvement to general weather forecasting.
Zoom: https://uchicago.zoom.us/j/98910526387?pwd=nob2d2IMsbCCN5DaGnhZ1vgMNht3v5.1
