BARREL 1J Magnetometer: Magnetic Field Data from Balloon Campaigns

Tri-axial fluxgate magnetometer data from the BARREL balloon mission, designed to study electron losses from Earth's radiation belts. The dataset includes over 50 stratospheric balloon flights launched from Antarctica and Sweden across campaigns in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Data are provided at 0.25-second resolution with nominal conversions applied but are not gain-corrected or despun.

Use Cases

• Analyzing ULF-timescale magnetic field variations based on tri-axial DC magnetometer measurements.
• Studying spatial and temporal scales of relativistic electron precipitation based on coordinated balloon and satellite observations.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of precipitation at relativistic energies based on balloon array data.
• Correlating stratospheric magnetic field data with in-situ measurements from the Van Allen Probes mission.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 stratospheric balloon flights across four campaigns.
• Provides 0.25-second resolution magnetic field measurements.
• Coordinated with multiple satellite missions and ground-based instruments like EISCAT radar.

Limitations

• Data are not gain-corrected or despun, requiring additional processing for some analyses.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and exact file sizes are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measured by DC magnetometers carried on stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 14:14:37.829944; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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