Satellite Data for Atmospheric Monitoring at the Pierre Auger Observatory

Atmospheric monitoring over the 3000 km² of the Pierre Auger Observatory can be supplemented by satellite data. Methods for night-time cloud detection and aerosol cross-checking were created using the GOES-16 and Aeolus satellites, respectively. The geostationary GOES-16 satellite provides a 100% up-time view of the cloud cover over the observatory. GOES-13 was used until the end of 2017 for cloud monitoring, but with its retirement a method based on GOES-16 data was developed. The GOES-16 cloud detection method matches the observatory’s vertical laser cloud detection method at a rate of ∼90%. The Aeolus satellite crosses the Pierre Auger Observatory several times throughout the year firing UV-laser shots. The laser beams leave a track of scattered light in the atmosphere that can be observed by the light sensors of the observatory fluorescence telescopes. Using a parametric model of the aerosol concentration, the laser shots can be reconstructed with different combinations of the aerosol parameters. A minimization procedure then yields the parameter set that best describes the aerosol attenuation. Furthermore, the possibility of studying horizontal homogeneity of aerosols across the array is being investigated.