COSMIC-RAY MUONS IN THE DEEP OCEAN

A string of seven optical detectors deployed from a ship was used to detect the Cherenkov light from muons at ocean depths ranging from 2000 to 4000 m in intervals of 500 m. The flux and angular distributions of cosmic-ray muons were measured. An effective area for fivefold coincidences of 420 m2 for downward-going muons was achieved. The results are consistent with those derived from underground observations and theoretical calculations. The measured vertical intensity ranges from (9.84±6.5) × 10-8 cm-2 s-1 sr-1 at 2090 m of water equivalent (mwe) to (4.57±1.37) × 10-9 cm-2 s-1 sr-1 at 4157 mwe. © 1990 The American Physical Society.