Facilities of Athens Neutron Monitor Station to Space Weather services

H. Mavromichalaki; M. Gerontidou; P. Paschalis; E. Paouris

Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 1612.08343

Facilities of Athens Neutron Monitor Station to Space Weather services

H. Mavromichalaki·M. Gerontidou·P. Paschalis·E. Paouris

View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

In the frame of the comprehensive knowledge, detection and forecasting of the solar terrestrial relations as well as space weather events, the ground based measurements of the network of neutron monitor constitutes a vital tool for these studies. This is mainly the reason that Athens Neutron Monitor Station (A.Ne.Mo.S.) beyond of the provision of its real time data, has also developed several research applications. More specifically, applications such as a) an optimized automated Ground Level Enhancement Alert (GLE Alert Plus) b) a web interface, providing data from mul- tiple Neutron Monitor stations (Multi-Station tool) and c) a simulation model, named DYnamic Atmospheric Shower Tracking Interactive Model Application (DYASTIMA), which allows the study of the cosmic ray showers resulted when primary cosmic ray particles enters the atmosphere, have been developed. The two first applications are currently federated products in European Space Agency (ESA) and actually available via the Space Weather Portal operated by ESA. On the other hand, the contribution of the simulation tool DYASTIMA, based on the well known Geant4 toolkit, to the calculations of the radiation dose received by air crews and passengers within the Earth's atmosphere led us to develop an extended application of DYASTIMA named DYASTIMA-R. This new application calculates the energy that is deposited on the phantom and moreover the equivalent dose. Furthermore, a Space Weather Forecasting Center which provides a three day geomagnetic activity report on a daily basis has been set up and is operating at the Athens Neutron Monitor Sta- tion. Finally, all above developed services are in essential importance for the fundamental research as well as for practical applications concerning Space Weather.

Explore related subjects

physics.space-ph astro-ph.HE

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

H. Mavromichalaki, M. Gerontidou, P. Paschalis, E. Paouris. 2016-12-26. Facilities of Athens Neutron Monitor Station to Space Weather services. https://arxiv.org/abs/1612.08343

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Coordinate Systems and Transforms in Space Physics: Terms, Definitions, Implementations, and Recommendations for Reproducibility

In space physics, acronyms for coordinate systems (e.g., \texttt{GEI}, \texttt{GSM}) are commonly used; however, differences in their definitions and implementations can prevent reproducibility. In this work, we compare definitions in online resources, software packages, and frequently cited journal articles and show that implementation differences can lead to transformations between same-named coordinate systems and position values from different data providers to differ significantly. Based on these comparisons and results, and to enable reproducibility, we recommend that (a) a standard for acronyms and definitions for coordinate systems is developed, similar to equivalents in astronomy or earth sciences; (b) a standards body develops a citable database of reference data needed for these transforms. For software that computes coordinate transforms, we also recommend that their developers provide explicit comparisons of their implementations with the results of (b) and documentation on implementation choices. Additionally, we provide recommendations for scientists and metadata developers to ensure that sufficient information is provided to enable reproducibility. Finally, we document that spacecraft positions from data providers can differ both because of differences in how they implemented transforms and because of differences in the original source of the position data, and provide recommendations to improve the documentation of spacecraft positional datasets.

physics.space-ph↗

arXiv2026

Aurora Hunter: A Two-Stage Framework for Probabilistic Visibility Forecasting

Aurora visibility at a given location requires two physically distinct conditions to hold at once: aurora occurring overhead, governed by solar wind-magnetosphere coupling, and observing conditions that permit detection, governed by cloud cover and moonlight. Approaches that conflate the two weaken the space-weather signal and limit cross-site generalizability. We develop Aurora Hunter, a two-stage cascade that separates occurrence prediction from observing-condition assessment. Stage 1 uses 43 physics-driven features to predict P(aurora identifiable in all-sky images) via gradient-boosted trees trained on joint Tromso+Kiruna data (about 16,600 hours, 2015-2023). Stage 2 models P(unobscured image class | identifiable) with logistic regression on 15 observing-condition features, trained on hours with identifiable aurora. The cascade P(visible) = P(identifiable) x P(unobscured | identifiable) achieves retrospective ROC-AUC of 0.958 (Tromso test, 2019-2020) and 0.933 (independent Kiruna, 2024), improving on the occurrence stage used alone by +0.095 and +0.097. Transfer to Skibotn, the one station withheld entirely (2022-2025), is limited. SHAP analysis identifies magnetic local time, the Kp x nightside interaction and the three-hour mean Kp as the dominant features (44% of attribution), consistent with auroral oval physics. Hemisphere-wide occurrence maps combine the Stage 1 amplitude, on a clear-sky basis, with the Feldstein oval parameterization. By providing location-specific visibility probabilities with measured reliability rather than coarse geomagnetic indices, the framework links space weather research to practical observation planning. An operational proof of concept is available at https://aurora-hunter.onrender.com

physics.space-ph↗

arXiv2026

Interhemispheric differences in field-aligned currents, ground magnetic perturbations, and TEC during the geomagnetic storms of May and October 2024

This study investigates storm-to-storm variability and hemispheric differences in magnetosphere-ionosphere (MI) coupling during the extreme (G5) geomagnetic storm of May 10-11 and the severe (G4) storm of October 10-11, 2024. Global field-aligned current (FAC) patterns derived from the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Dynamics Response Experiment (AMPERE), together with conjugate observations from ground-based magnetometers within the SuperMAG network and Global Positioning System (GPS)-derived total electron content (TEC), are analyzed to examine high-latitude electrodynamic and ionospheric responses in both hemispheres. The May event exhibits broad and relatively organized Region 1/Region 2 FAC systems encircling the polar caps across multiple local time sectors, accompanied by intervals of correspondence in conjugate magnetic perturbations and structured TEC enhancements with temporal offsets between hemispheres. In contrast, the October event shows more localized, asymmetric, and uneven FAC morphology with pronounced hemispheric and dawn-dusk asymmetries, together with greater divergence in conjugate magnetic responses and spatially heterogeneous TEC variability. These differences are consistent with enhanced mesoscale variability and asymmetric current closure under storm-time conditions. Overall, the results highlight that even under similarly strong solar wind driving, the coupled MI system can exhibit substantially different spatial organization and interhemispheric coupling, reflecting the combined influence of FAC morphology, ionospheric conductance, and local electrodynamic conditions.

physics.space-ph↗