AKUNU Atmospheric Network as Part of the GeoRays Project in Argentina

Abstract

At present, data on atmospheric parameters are used in climatology, engineering, weather forecasting, agriculture, and other fields of research and applied science. In 2013, a group of researchers, including Dr. Gabriela Nicora, Prof. Marcos Rubinstein, Prof. Vernon Cooray, Prof. Francisco Román, and Prof. Farhad Rachidi declared themselves in favor of the development of an inexpensive sensor network, called AKUNU, which has for objective to collect atmospheric data in low- and middle-income countries. From the first prototypes, a data acquisition system was developed that records the electric field generated by a return stroke from a lightning using low-cost electronics. This was achieved between the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HEIG-VD) and the Institute of Scientific and Technical Research for Defense (CITEDEF of Argentina), where the Digital Techniques laboratory in conjunction with the Atmosphere laboratory continues and expands this research field with the development of a network of sensors to capture the electric field from atmospheric discharges, and of software applications for its analysis.