Radiation exposure at sea level measurement between Rio de Janeiro and the Antarctic Peninsula

A sea trip was made aboard the vessel NApOc Ary Rongel of the Brazilian Navy from Rio de Janeiro (Lat. 22°S) to Admiralty Bay (Lat. 62°S) in the King George Island in the Antarctic Peninsula. This trip was part of the Brazilian Antarctic Programme. Radiation measurements were carried out with a proportional counter along the ship round-trip route, which sailed partially under the South Atlantic Anomaly. Only those measurements, which were taken after the vessel was farther than one nautical mile offshore were used. This procedure minimizes radiation contributions from land. External radiation measurements made offshore give an indication of the secondary cosmic ray intensity at sea level. Barometric pressure measurements were registered along the round-trip route as well. Negative correlations between the measured external radiation and the barometric pressure on the vessel were observed in both ways of the round-trip. In latitudes above 42°S, the negative correlation became more prominent. In 1935 the variation of the secondary cosmic radiation with atmospheric pressure was known as the barometric paradox. Recently, an attempt was made to associate long-term variations of the surface pressure with solar activity and galactic cosmic rays. The results are discussed taking into account that as the barometric pressure increases the particle density in the atmosphere also increases. In such case, there are an increasing number of interactions with the particles produced in the hadronic showers, because of decreasing mean free path. Thus, the number of particles reaching a detector at the sea level decreases.