BARREL: Tri-axial Magnetometer Data from Stratospheric Balloon Campaigns

Over 50 stratospheric balloons launched between 2013 and 2016 carried tri-axial fluxgate magnetometers to measure magnetic field variations. The BARREL mission, a NASA Living with a Star project, collected this data from Antarctic and Arctic latitudes to study relativistic electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. Observations were coordinated with the Van Allen Probes satellite mission and other ground-based instruments.

Use Cases

• Analyzing ULF-timescale magnetic field variations based on three-axis DC magnetometer measurements.
• Studying spatial and temporal patterns of relativistic electron precipitation based on coordinated balloon and satellite observations.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of precipitation events based on data from a slowly moving balloon array.
• Correlating magnetic field data with X-ray spectrometer measurements from the same balloons.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 balloon flights across four campaigns from 2013 to 2016.
• Coordinated measurements with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground/space-based instruments.
• Provides first balloon measurements of relativistic electron precipitation alongside in-situ satellite data.

Limitations

• Data are neither gain corrected nor despun, requiring additional processing for some analyses.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from tri-axial DC magnetometers on approximately 20 kg stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

Campaigns conducted in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 14:18:54.260718; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Launches from Halley Bay and SANAE IV in Antarctica (2013-2014) and Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden (2015-2016).