BARREL 1B: Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra from Balloon Campaigns for Radiation Belt Studies

Four channels of fast time resolution (50 ms) Bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra detected with a NaI Scintillator, covering an energy range from 0 MeV to 1.5 MeV. The data was collected by NASA's BARREL mission, a multiple-balloon investigation designed to study electron losses from Earth's Radiation Belts, with campaigns conducted from Antarctica in 2013-2014 and from Sweden in 2015-2016. Over 50 stratospheric balloons were launched across the four campaigns, providing measurements to characterize the spatial and temporal variations of relativistic electron precipitation.

Use Cases

• Modeling relativistic electron precipitation from radiation belts based on bremsstrahlung X-ray measurements.
• Analyzing temporal variations in electron loss with 50 ms time resolution data.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of precipitation events using data from a constellation of balloon-borne instruments.
• Correlating balloon-based X-ray observations with in-situ measurements from the Van Allen Probes mission.

Strengths

• Provides data from over 50 balloon flights across four separate campaigns.
• Offers fast time resolution measurements at 50 milliseconds across four spectral channels.
• Designed for coordinated analysis with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground-based instruments.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale ML tasks.
• Data files are in specialized formats (BIN, PDF, TEXT, HTML), which may require specific tools for processing.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measured by X-ray spectrometers and DC magnetometers carried on stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

Campaigns conducted in January-February 2013, 2014, August 2015, and August 2016.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 14:21:37.189536; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Balloon launches from Halley Bay and SANAE IV base in Antarctica, and the Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden.