Abstract
We present the current knowledge and activities to assess the climatology of the “Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos” (ORM), selected to host the Northern observatory of the CTA, with particular emphasis on molecular density profiles and aerosol extinction.
Highlights
The site selection process for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) [1] has been resolved
Existing optical telescopes are active in this task [5, 6], and the very same host organization of the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos” (ORM), the “Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias” (IAC), through their “Sky Quality Group” (SQG)5 [7,8,9]
The only about 150 km apart “Observatorio del Teide” (OT)6, and the “Izaña Atmospheric Research Center” (IARC)7, or Izaña Observatory (IZO), both located on the neighboring island of Tenerife at about 2400 m a.s.l., have monitored atmospheric conditions over large time series
Summary
The site selection process for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) [1] has been resolved. The ORM looks back on a history of more than 20 years of gamma-ray astronomy through Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), featuring first the HEGRA3 and the MAGIC Telescopes4 The latter dedicated considerable efforts to characterize the atmosphere above with respect to molecular and aerosol profiles, and to clouds [2,3,4]. The atmosphere in the sub-tropical region of the Canary Islands is characterized by great stability throughout all the year This is due to the combination of two processes of large-scale atmospheric circulation [12]: the descending branch of the Hadley cell around 30◦ N and the “Trade” or “Alisios” winds, coming from the Azores high area, that blow in the low troposphere, above an ocean which is relatively cold. That site selection is accomplished and expected average observational duty cycle and performance established [14], the CTA-N is primarily interested in assessing molecular density profiles up to about 25 km a.s.l. and their variations, in understanding aerosol profiles and their optical characteristics, in order to trim its atmospheric calibration strategy [15]
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