VARIATIONS OF THE MUON FLUX AT SEA LEVEL ASSOCIATED WITH INTERPLANETARY ICMEs AND COROTATING INTERACTION REGIONS

We present the results of an ongoing survey on the association between the muon flux variation at ground level (3 m above sea level) registered by the Tupi telescopes (Niteri-Brazil, 22[degrees].9S, 43[degreeds].2W, 3 m) and the Earth-directed transient disturbances in the interplanetary medium propagating from the Sun (such as coronal mass ejections (CME), and corotating interaction regions (CIRs)). Identification of interplanetary structures and associated solar activity was based on the nomenclature and definitions given by the satellite observations, including an incomplete list of possible interplanetary shocks observed by the CELIAS/MTOF Proton Monitor on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft. Among 29 experimental events reported in the present analysis, there are 15 possibly associated with the CMEs and sheaths, and 3 events with the CIRs (forward or reverse shocks); the origin of the remaining 11 events has not been determined by the satellite detectors.