Neutron Monitor Network in Real Time and Space Weather

Relativistic cosmic rays (galactic and solar) registered by neutron monitors at the Earth, bring valuable information on their interaction with interplanetary disturbances. Therefore, they can play a useful role in forecasting space weather storms and in specifying magnetic properties of CME shocks and may be derived from ground level cosmic ray (CR) observations well in advance of the onset of geomagnetic storm. This can be used for forecasting. High energy solar particle events during powerful solar flares are registered at the Earth well before the main development of particle profiles recorded onboard GOES. This provides a good chance of a preventive prognosis of dangerous particle flux by ground level observations. To produce real-time prediction of the phenomena, only real time data from Neutron Monitor Network (NMN) should be employed. The increased number of NM stations operating in real-time gives a good basis for using NMN as a single multidirectional tool and for improving the definition of the onset of GLEs in powerful SPEs and to give an immediate forecast of the arrival of the interplanetary disturbance at the Earth. The properties of the Neutron Monitor Network and its possibilities for Space Weather tasks are discussed in this paper. Different real time Neutron Monitor Network topologies, different synchronization methods and the ways of collecting data in a central data server accessible to the users, are also discussed.