Data from Neutron Monitor 6NM64 on King George Island

LARC is an acronym, which stands for Laboratorio Antartico de Radiacion Cosmica
(Antarctic Laboratory for Cosmic Rays). LARC project started about ten years
ago as a uniquely Chilean project, but approximately five years ago the
cosmic-ray section of IFSI/CNR was called to collaborate with the Chilean
researchers both for experimental and theoretical works. A detailed Proposal
entitled Cosmic Rays in Antarctica was submitted to the Italian Antarctic
Research Program (PNRA/MURST, 1992-96) and it was approved. The Italian
counterpart joined the project in November 1993 through the signature of a
formal agreement (convention) between the Chilean Laboratory for Cosmic Rays
(University of Chile - Santiago) and the Italian Project Cosmic Rays in the
Heliosphere (IFSI/CNR - Rome). Immediately, the agreement was submitted to the
INACH (Instituto Antartico Chileno) and to the PNRA. The Italy/Chile
collaboration is made in the frame of the International Decade for Scientific
Cupertino in Antarctica (1991-2000).

The main objective for the LARC project is the study of the cosmic-ray
radiation in the high-latitude southern Latin-American sector, which is not
covered by the worldwide network of cosmic-ray detectors. A standard super
neutron monitor (6-NM-64 type - IQSY detector) is operating on King George
Island (South Shetland Island - Fildes Bay - Ardley Cove) since January 19,
1991. The place is the seat of the E. Frei Base and the Tte. Marsh airport with
Las Estrellas Village and a Meteorological Center.

This Center kindly supplied us with the meteorological parameters for Ardley
Cove (3 hourly readings of atmospheric pressure, air temperature, relative
humidity, wind speed and direction). The primary experimental equipment for
LARC was furnished by the Cosmic-Ray Research Laboratory of the University of
Chile. LARC data for the 1991 year have been recorded on paper tapes. During
three successive summers campaigns (1991/92,1992/93 and 1993/94) the data
acquisition system has been changed. Present original database 1991/1998 is on
easily readable ASCII or BIN files on DOS-formatted magnetic disks. Data are
collected and processed at Santiago.

Data strings for the 1991-1998 epoch contain: date, universal time (U.T.),
atmospheric pressure readings (hPa), internal temperature, internal humidity,
and the counting rates registered every 5 minutes by the three units (each
with two BP28 Chalk River counters) of the monitor. Data treatment includes:
data-string decoding; data-format check; data recovery, if possible, when
failure is present.