Atmospheric aerosol monitoring at the Pierre Auger Observatory

For a ground based cosmic-ray observatory the atmosphere is an integral part of the detector. Air fluorescence detectors (FDs) are particularly sensitive to the presence of aerosols in the atmosphere. These aerosols, consisting mainly of clouds and dust, can strongly affect the propagation of fluorescence and Cherenkov light from cosmic-ray induced extensive air showers. The Pierre Auger Observatory has a comprehensive program to monitor the aerosols within the atmospheric volume of the detector. In this paper the aerosol parameters that affect FD reconstruction will be discussed. The aerosol monitoring systems that have been deployed at the Pierre Auger Observatory will be briefly described along with some measurements from these systems.