BARREL 1J Ephemeris: Balloon Coordinates for Radiation Belt Studies

BARREL 1J Ephemeris Level 2 data provides geographic and magnetic coordinates for stratospheric balloons launched during the BARREL mission. The dataset includes balloon epoch time, latitude, longitude, and altitude recorded every 4 seconds from GPS and derived via the IRBEM library. Over 50 balloons were launched from Antarctic and Arctic sites between 2013 and 2016 to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts.

Use Cases

• Mapping balloon trajectories based on 4-second GPS-derived geographic coordinates
• Analyzing magnetic field variations based on derived magnetic coordinates from the IRBEM library
• Studying relativistic electron precipitation spatial scales based on stratospheric X-ray spectrometer measurements
• Correlating balloon observations with in-situ plasma wave and particle data from the Van Allen Probes mission
• Modeling radiation belt electron losses based on multi-balloon array data across magnetic local time

Strengths

• Coordinates are recorded at a high temporal resolution of 4 seconds
• Data is derived from two sources: direct GPS measurements and the established IRBEM library for magnetic coordinates
• Campaigns involved over 50 balloon launches across four years (2013-2016)
• Data collection was coordinated with multiple ground and space-based instruments like the Van Allen Probes and EISCAT

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data returned from balloon payloads every 4 seconds, with geographic coordinates from onboard GPS and magnetic coordinates derived using the IRBEM FORTRAN library.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 04:19:57.057735; freshness should be verified

Geography

Balloons launched from Halley Bay and SANAE IV bases in Antarctica (2013-2014) and the Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden (2015-2016), operating at stratospheric altitudes (~30 km).