NMDB · Real-Time database for high resolution Neutron Monitor measurements

We propose to set up a European digital repository for cosmic ray data<br/>by pooling existing data archives and by developing a real-time database<br/>with the data of as many European neutron monitor stations as possible.<br/>The data will be available through internet. Cosmic rays provide a<br/>diagnostic tool to analyze processes in interplanetary space and at the<br/>Sun. Cosmic rays also directly affect the terrestrial environment and<br/>serve as indicators of solar variability and non-anthropogenic climate<br/>changes on Earth. In the fifties of the last century a worldwide network<br/>of standardized neutron monitors was developed to examine temporal and<br/>spatial variations in our space environment. Despite decades of<br/>tradition, neutron monitors remain the state-of-the-art instrumentation<br/>for measuring GeV cosmic rays that cannot be measured by space<br/>experiments. Therefore the worldwide network, which presently consists<br/>of about 50 stations, ideally complements cosmic ray observations in<br/>space. Since the beginning of the coordinated neutron monitor<br/>measurements the data have been collected in world data centers. A big<br/>shortcoming of these data centers for today's demands is the fact that<br/>the data are not available in real-time and only with a time resolution<br/>of one hour. Cosmic ray applications, e.g. space weather warnings<br/>(geomagnetic storms, solar energetic particle events) need access to<br/>neutron monitor measurements in real-time and with high time resolution.<br/>Reliable forecasts of geomagnetic storms are important in many technical<br/>areas (radio communication, electric power lines, etc.). Confident alert<br/>prediction of solar energetic particle events is highly important for<br/>manned space missions and for airline crews and passengers. The proposal<br/>unifies for the first time the cosmic ray community of the European<br/>neutron monitor network in a coordinated effort to advance the use of<br/>cosmic ray data in cutting-edge applications, as e.g. space weather.