BARREL 2A Ephemeris: Balloon GPS and Magnetic Coordinates at 4s Resolution

BARREL 2A Ephemeris Level 2 data provides geographic and magnetic coordinates for stratospheric balloons at 4-second intervals. Geographic coordinates are obtained from onboard GPS, while magnetic coordinates are derived using the IRBEM library. The dataset was produced by NASA for the BARREL mission, which launched over 50 balloons from Antarctica and Sweden between 2013 and 2016 to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts.

Use Cases

• Correlating relativistic electron precipitation events with in-situ plasma wave measurements based on the balloon's X-ray spectrometer and magnetometer data.
• Mapping the spatial scale of electron precipitation at relativistic energies based on the constellation of balloons spread across magnetic local time.
• Studying the relationship between geographic position and magnetic field variations based on the derived magnetic coordinates.
• Analyzing temporal patterns of electron loss from the radiation belts based on the 4-second epoch time data collected over multiple campaigns.

Strengths

• Data is collected at a high temporal resolution of 4 seconds for each balloon.
• Coordinates are derived from two authoritative sources: onboard GPS and the IRBEM FORTRAN library.
• Campaigns involved over 50 balloon launches across four years, providing a multi-year observational record.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the launch sites in Antarctica and Sweden.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data returned from balloon payloads every 4 seconds, with magnetic coordinates derived using the IRBEM library.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 04:03:14.128277; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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