2023-04-26 09:55:32

SEVAN detector installed on Zugspitze in Bavarian Alps

Armenian and German SEVAN groups established the SEVAN module at the Environmental research station Scheefernhaus (Zugspitze, 2650 m). A historical site where Johim Kuettner performed seminal experiments on the charge structure of the thundercloud in 1945-1949. The near-surface electric field (NSEF) measurements will support particle flux measurements with the EFM-100 sensor installed nearby. The NSEF measurements will highly improve the research of particle-atmosphere relations, which is on top of atmospheric physics research. The highest mountains in Armenia, Bulgaria, Germany, Slovakia, and Czechia monitor enhanced particle fluxes and atmospheric charging to understand electron acceleration and lightning origination. This information is inevitable for solar physics, space weather, solar-terrestrial connections, and Earth numerical models. 



Figure 1. European SEVAN network loins mountain and sea level detectors


Figure 2. On April 18, the weather at Zugspitze was severe


Figure 3. Final location of the SEVAN module in Kugelhime, where ≈10 other neutron detectors are operated