Zenith: A Radiosonde Detector for Rapid‐Response Ionizing Atmospheric Radiation Measurements During Solar Particle Events

• Published in: Space Weather Vol. 16; no. 3; pp. 261 - 272
• Main Authors: Dyer, A. C. R., Ryden, K. A., Hands, A. D. P., Dyer, C., Burnett, C., Gibbs, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.03.2018
• Subjects: Aircraft; Airlines; Altitude; Atmospheric radiation; Atmospheric radiation measurements; Batteries; Commercial aircraft; Contingency; Energetic particles; Ground level; Ground stations; Microelectronics; Nuclear research; Passengers; Proton flux; Radiation detectors; Radiation measurement; Radiation monitoring; radiosonde; Radiosondes; rapid‐response detector; Satellite-borne instruments; Sensors; Solar particle events; Solar protons; Solar storms; Unmanned aerial vehicles; Weather stations; Zenith
• ISSN: 1542-7390; 1539-4964; 1542-7390
• DOI: 10.1002/2017SW001692

Solar energetic particle events create radiation risks for aircraft, notably single‐event effects in microelectronics along with increased dose to crew and passengers. In response to this, some airlines modify their flight routes after automatic alerts are issued. At present these alerts are based on proton flux measurements from instruments onboard satellites, so it is important that contemporary atmospheric radiation measurements are made and compared. This paper presents the development of a rapid‐response system built around the use of radiosondes equipped with a radiation detector, Zenith, which can be launched from a Met Office weather station after significant solar proton level alerts are issued. Zenith is a compact, battery‐powered solid‐state radiation monitor designed to be connected to a Vaisala RS‐92 radiosonde, which transmits all data to a ground station as it ascends to an altitude of ~33 km. Zenith can also be operated as a stand‐alone detector when connected to a laptop, providing real‐time count rates. It can also be adapted for use on unmanned aerial vehicles. Zenith has been flown on the Met Office Civil Contingency Aircraft, taken to the European Organization for Nuclear Research‐EU high energy Reference Field facility for calibration and launched on a meteorological balloon at the Met Office's weather station in Camborne, Cornwall, UK. During this sounding, Zenith measured the Pfotzer‐Regener maximum to be at an altitude of 18–20 km where the count rate was measured to be 1.15 c s−1 cm−2 compared to 0.02 c s−1 cm−2 at ground level. Key Points Rapid‐response radiosonde detector to monitor atmospheric ionizing radiation environment during solar energetic particle events Silicon detector is capable of measuring 120 keV–100 MeV energy depositions for establishing reliability of electronics at altitude Atmospheric and accelerator‐beam radiation measurements from a silicon solid‐state detector are made and compared