BARREL 1S Rate Counter: 4-Second Accumulations of Electron Precipitation Diagnostics

Over 50 stratospheric balloons were launched across four campaigns from Antarctica and Sweden to study electron losses from Earth's radiation belts. This Level 2 data product contains 4-second accumulations of rate counter measurements from NaI scintillators, providing diagnostic fields with uncalibrated energy ranges. The BARREL mission, a NASA Living with a Star project, coordinated with the Van Allen Probes and other instruments to characterize the spatial scale of relativistic electron precipitation.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal variations in electron precipitation based on 4-second rate count accumulations.
• Studying the spatial scale of relativistic energy precipitation events across a balloon array.
• Correlating balloon-based X-ray measurements with in-situ plasma wave and particle data from the Van Allen Probes.
• Investigating ULF-timescale magnetic field variations using coordinated magnetometer data mentioned in the mission description.

Strengths

• Data originates from over 50 balloon flights across four dedicated campaigns (2013-2016).
• Provides coordinated measurements with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground/space-based instruments.
• Offers 4-second temporal resolution for rate count diagnostics.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Rate count values are uncalibrated and may wrap near or above 16384 counts/s.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from rate counters on stratospheric balloons carrying X-ray spectrometers and DC magnetometers.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 13:51:14.396029; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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