Joshua Boehm.with Corbin Covault 

Characterizing the Effects of Atmospheric Conditions on the Sensitivity of the STACEE Experiment

The STACEE experiment hinges on its ability to detect Cherenkov pulses of light and distinguish them from the night sky background.  Weather conditions such as cloudiness or haze result in increased attenuation of the Cherenkov light as well as greater scattering of background light producing extra noise. This project will investigate the data generated by the SAM (STACEE ATMOSPHERIC MONITOR) data collection devices which record weather conditions and measurements of atmospheric transparency.  Correlations will be sought between the SAM data and other STACEE observables with the goal of setting quality cutoffs and calibrating the energy scale on the

collected STACEE data.