Likelihood and impact of severe space weather events on the resilience of nuclear power and safeguards monitoring.

The project aim is to increase the capability and performance of ground level neutron monitors in differentiating between neutrons of differing origin. Thus, reducing the chances of false-positive criticality alarms at nuclear licensed sites handling fissile materials and improving the resilience of nuclear power stations and power grids to geomagnetically inducted currents.

The benefits of this research are twofold. A robust monitoring system for neutron detection that could reduce false positive criticality alarms at nuclear sites caused by space weather events, and providing rapid and accurate data on space weather which may damage critical infrastructure at the nuclear site (e.g., power supplies).