BARREL 1Q Tri-axial Fluxgate Magnetometer Magnetic Field Data

BARREL 1Q Tri-axial Fluxgate Magnetometer (MAGN) Magnetic Field Data provides three-axis DC magnetometer measurements with nominal conversions applied, neither gain corrected nor despun. The BARREL mission was a NASA Living with a Star Mission of Opportunity, launching over 50 stratospheric balloons from Antarctica and Sweden between 2013 and 2016 to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. Data was collected at stratospheric altitudes near the Antarctic and Arctic circles.

Use Cases

• Analyze ULF-timescale magnetic field variations based on DC magnetometer measurements
• Study spatial and temporal variations of electron precipitation from radiation belts based on balloon constellation data
• Characterize the spatial scale of precipitation at relativistic energies based on X-ray spectrometer correlation
• Coordinate multi-instrument studies based on data collected alongside Van Allen Probes and ground-based radar systems

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 stratospheric balloon launches across four campaigns
• Provides measurements coordinated with multiple satellite missions and ground-based instruments
• Offers the first balloon measurements of relativistic electron precipitation alongside comprehensive in-situ plasma wave and particle data

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected from DC magnetometers carried on BARREL stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 04:14:09.107398; freshness should be verified

Geography

Launches from Halley Bay, Antarctica; SANAE IV base, Antarctica; and Esrange Space Center, Kiruna, Sweden.