BARREL: Balloon Measurements of Radiation Belt Electron Precipitation, 2013-2016

Over 50 stratospheric balloons were launched across four campaigns from Antarctica and Sweden to study electron losses from Earth's radiation belts. The BARREL mission, a NASA Living with a Star project, provided the first balloon measurements of relativistic electron precipitation coordinated with in-situ satellite data. This dataset contains 4-second accumulations of uncalibrated rate counter diagnostics from NaI scintillators carried by those balloons.

Use Cases

• Correlating electron precipitation events with satellite measurements based on the coordinated Van Allen Probes mission data.
• Analyzing the spatial scale of relativistic electron precipitation based on the multi-balloon array described.
• Studying temporal variations in radiation belt losses using the 4-second time-series diagnostic data.
• Investigating magnetic field variations using the ULF-timescale magnetometer data mentioned in the mission description.

Strengths

• Data is from a coordinated NASA mission of opportunity with over 50 balloon launches.
• Provides first balloon measurements of relativistic electron precipitation alongside comprehensive in-situ satellite data.
• Covers four campaigns from 2013 to 2016 across both Antarctic and Arctic regions.

Limitations

• Rate count data are diagnostic, have uncalibrated energy ranges, and can wrap near or above 16384 counts/s.
• 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

Measurements from rate counters on stratospheric balloons launched during the BARREL mission.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 04:39:19.321651; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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