La Colaboración LAGO (Latin American Giant Observatory) tiene como objetivo la detección de fotones de alta energía provenientes de GRBs (Gamma Ray Bursts) utilizando detectores Cherenkov de agua (WCD). Para alcanzar la sensibilidad necesaria para la recolección de datos los WCDs deben ser instalados en sitios de altura mayor a 4000 msnm. En este trabajo se describe el diseño de un detector WCD autónomo para su instalación en las faldas del volcán Chimborazo (4310 msnm) desde la mecánica del tanque, su sistema de adquisición y transferencia de datos, generación de energía eléctrica y sistemas de backup para poder garantizar el funcionamiento continuo en el tiempo. Se estima que el WCD podrá funcionar por un período máximo de 18 meses sin mantenimiento, el tratamiento de purificación del agua aumenta considerablemente la transparencia incrementando el numero de fotoelectrones en un factor 2 comparado con otras implementaciones.

We present the preliminary results obtained in the development of the new data acquisition system (DAQ) that will be used by the LAGO Collaboration. According to the requirements of the water C herenkov detectors (WCD) used in LAGO, the new system must be capable of recording fast pulses (similar to ns) from a photomultiplier (PMT), control the high voltage level applied to it, in addition to monitoring the atmospheric conditions in which the data were taken. We show some of the figures of merit indicating the performance of the new system working with a WCD. The DAQ system is based on a commercial board plus a custom made interface board. The implementation includes scalers, sub-scalers, an automatic baseline correction algorithm, pressure & temperature sensing, geolocalization, an external trigger and the capability to set and monitor the high voltage applied to the PMT. The flexibility in the design of the system allows to adapt it to different particle detector technologies, such as silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), resistive plate chambers (RPC) and scintillators. Preliminary results prove the validity, reliability and high performance of the system.

The present work describes the results obtained in the development of the new Data Acquisition System (DAQ) that will be used by the Latin American Giant Observatory (LAGO) Collaboration. According to the requirements of the Water Cherenkov Detectors (WCD) used in LAGO, the new system must be capable of recording fast pulses (∼ns) from a photomultiplier (PMT), control the high voltage level applied to it, in addition to monitoring the atmospheric conditions in which the data were taken. Some figures of merit are shown, indicating the performance of the new system working with a WCD. The DAQ is based on a commercial board plus a custom-made interface board. This implementation includes scalers, sub-scalers, an automatic baseline correction algorithm, pressure & temperature sensing, geolocalization, an external trigger and the capability to set and monitor the high voltage applied to the PMT. The flexibility in the design of the system allows to adapt it to different particle detector technologies, such as silicon photomultipliers, resistive plate chambers and scintillators. Preliminary results prove the validity, reliability and high performance of the system.

The LAGO (Latin American Giant Observatory) observatory is an experiment that spans over Latin America in a wide range of latitudes that gives different rigidity cut offs for the enter of cosmic rays in the atmosphere. The motivation of the Observatory is to study atmospheric radiation and space weather through the measurement of the secondary emission of low energy cosmic rays at ground level using Water Cherenkov Detectors (WCD). This work presents the contributions of the LAGO collaboration to the 2019 36th ICRC.

La variación temporal y la distribución espacial de la precipitación en la cuenca del río Pastaza en Ecuador se investigó utilizando los registros diarios pluviométricos del periodo 1964-2011, provenientes de veinte y tres estaciones del Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología (INAMHI). Se aplicaron tres pruebas estadísticas para establecer la homogeneidad de los datos, estas fueron, t de Student, Cramer y Helmert. La prueba estadística de Spearman fue aplicada para establecer la tendencia temporal, mientras que el método de ponderación del inverso de la distancia se utilizó para revelar la tendencia espacial de los volúmenes de precipitación mensual y anual. La investigación muestra: (a) 30,4% de las estaciones presentan tendencias temporales positivas, 26,1% negativas y 43,5% no muestra tendencia durante el periodo 1964-2011; (b) la tendencia espacial en el periodo 1971–2011 revela montos pluviométricos mensuales entre 100 mm y 200 mm en las unidades hidrográficas Cutuchi, Ambato y Chambo ubicadas al nor y sureste de la cuenca; 100 mm a 500 mm mensuales en la unidad hidrográfica denominada Drenajes menores del río Pastaza al suroeste de la cuenca. Estos hallazgos proporcionan información importante que contribuye a la construcción de modelos regionales de cambio climático en zonas montañosas donde la topografía es un factor que provoca variabilidad espacial y temporal de la precipitación.

The Latin American Giant Observatory (LAGO) is an extended cosmic ray observatory composed by a network of water-Cherenkov detectors spanning over different sites located at significantly different altitudes (from sea level up to more than $5000$\,m a.s.l.) and latitudes across Latin America, covering a huge range of geomagnetic rigidity cut-offs and atmospheric absorption/reaction levels. This detection network is designed to measure the temporal evolution of the radiation flux at ground level with extreme detail. The LAGO project is mainly oriented to perform basic research in three branches: high energy phenomena, space weather and atmospheric radiation at ground level. LAGO is built and operated by the LAGO Collaboration, a non-centralized collaborative union of more than 30 institutions from ten countries. These are the contributions of the LAGO Collaboration to the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference, 30 July - 6 August 2015, The Hague, The Netherlands

The LAGO project is a recent collaboration that comes from the association of latin american astroparticle researchers. It started in 2005 and it was designed to survey the high-energy component of GRBs. The present work describes the construction and initial testing of three WCD prototypes, one located in Riobamba at 2784 m.a.s.l., and two located in Quito, Ecuador at 2400 and 2817 m.a.s.l. respectively. We use a commercial water tank and low cost accessories to build each detector, which will be later installed at high altitude mountain sites in Chimborazo and Cotopaxi respectively. Data acquisition and post processing is done using two electronic systems designed for the LAGO etectors, which were developed by the LAGO Argentina and LAGO Mexico team respectively, and are based on a digitizer board and a FPGA. In addition, a water protocol procedure is carried out, in order to guarantee a stable performance of the WCD through time. Computer-aided simulations are being performed to calculate the theoretical efficiency of the WCD, properly calibrate the detector, and standarize the data with other LAGO WCD detectors.

Water Cherenkov Detectors (WCDs), which are part of the LAGO experimental array, are being built in the cities of Riobamba, Quito and Cumbaya in Ecuador. In order to increase the sensitivity and efficiency of these devices, it is necessary to ensure that the water used as radiator media absorbs as low as possible the UV light due to the incident particles and produced by Cherenkov effect. To do this, we built and used a device that allows us to measure the attenuation length directly. Water samples purified by different techniques are analyzed. Some characteristics like absorbance, refractive index, conductivity and cost are studied. We attempt to simulate the Cherenkov effect in FLUKA, we report our findings and perform a comparison with results from previous reports of LAGO sites elsewhere, and with other experiments that use WCD technology.