Ground Water Retention Correlation to Atmospheric Muon Rates

Muography is an investigation technique based on the detection of the atmospheric muon flux modification through matter. It has found lately multiple applications in geosciences, archaelogy, and non-invasive industrial controls. Mostly known for its imaging capabilities, muography may be exploited as well for monitoring purposes since the atmospheric muon flux is available permanently. In this paper we present an interesting measurement performed in the context of an archaelogical project called Archemuons, on the archaeological site of “Palais du Miroir” in ´Vienne, South of Lyon, France. We installed a muon detector in an underground gallery within the foundations of the building for the second half of 2023. The primary goal is to measure details of those foundations which are largely not excavated yet. Meanwhile we observed over more than 6 months long-term and short-term variations of the muon rates since the start of the experiment, which seem to exhibit a correlation with the rain accumulating on the free field just above the gallery. We propose as an explanation for this behavior the retention of water by the soil above the detector site.