Suborbital Characterization of Atmospheric Profiles and Cosmic Radiation over the Mexican Plateau

Abstract

We report suborbital in situ measurements of atmospheric thermodynamic variables and ionizing cosmic radiation obtained during a stratospheric balloon experiment conducted over the Mexican Plateau. The flight reached a maximum geometric altitude of 28.94 km above mean sea level, providing vertical sampling of the troposphere, tropopause, and lower stratosphere. Continuous temperature and pressure measurements acquired during ascent and descent were used to derive vertical profiles and to compute atmospheric density as a function of altitude under the hydrostatic approximation. The resulting thermal structure exhibits distinct lapse-rate regimes, allowing for a piecewise parametrization consistent with the International Standard Atmosphere (ISA) within the sampled altitude range. Simultaneous measurements of ionizing radiation show the expected altitude dependence of secondary cosmic-ray fluxes generated by atmospheric cascades, including the formation of a Regener-Pfotzer maximum. A peak ambient dose equivalent rate of 2.96 microGy h^{-1} was measured at an altitude of 18.64 km, consistent with mid-latitude stratospheric conditions. To the best of our knowledge, this experiment constitutes the first documented stratospheric balloon mission conducted in the State of Mexico to combine near-space atmospheric profiling with direct in situ measurements of ionizing cosmic radiation at altitudes approaching 30 km.

Figures (3)

• Figure 1: Measured temperature profile during ascent and descent. The trajectory traverses the troposphere, tropopause, and lower stratosphere.
• Figure 2: Ionizing radiation dose rate versus altitude (ascent). The peak near 18.6km is consistent with the Regener--Pfotzer maximum.
• Figure 3: Reconstructed balloon trajectory in a local reference frame (qualitative), showing horizontal drift during the flight.