MO-P10 00:00 1283

MOPITT Acceleration Sensor As A Piezoelectric Particle Detector.*, F. Nichitiu ¹ , F Nichitiu ¹ , JR Drummond ¹ , A Vitcu ¹ , J Zou ¹ , R Deschambault ² , ¹ University of Toronto , ² COMDEV — The sensitivity of a quartz piezoelectric to particle radiation has been observed by analyzing the signals from the force sensors (quartz piezoelectric accelerometers) of the MOPITT instrument aboard the Terra spacecraft (launched in Dec 1999) now orbiting the Earth. The accelerometer sensors attached to the MOPITT cooler show occasional high level signals (single events) when Terra spacecraft passes over the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) region and the Polar region. These signals over the SAA and Poles lead to the conclusion that they are caused by the radiation environment. Moreover, it is also demonstrated that major Solar Particle Events also induce a high daily rate of MOPITT device single events (DSE) when the high-energy component (>100 MeV) of the solar proton flux reaches a large value. These MOPITT DSEs are, as expected, located at the Polar Regions.

In this paper we will present details of the radiation sensitivity of MOPITT’s quartz piezoelectric accelerometer sensors (QPAS) as well as some observations concerning the radiation environment at the Terra orbit altitude using this device as a new kind of particle detector.

We have shown that the MOPITT QPAS are able to respond to particle radiation, independent of the level of mechanical vibrations. Using this device as a new kind of particle detector we show diurnal as well as seasonal radiation variations at the Terra orbit altitude.

* This work is being supported by CSA, NSERC