BARREL: Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra from Balloon Campaigns 2013-2016

Four balloon campaigns from 2013 to 2016 collected this data from Antarctica and Sweden. The dataset contains 48 channels of medium time resolution (4 seconds) Bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra, covering an energy range from 0 MeV to 4 MeV, measured by the BARREL mission's X-ray spectrometers. The mission, a NASA Living with a Star project, was designed to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts in coordination with the Van Allen Probes.

Use Cases

• Study spatial and temporal variations of electron precipitation based on the multi-balloon array design.
• Characterize the spatial scale of relativistic electron precipitation based on the mission's stated objective.
• Correlate balloon-based X-ray measurements with in-situ plasma wave and particle data from the Van Allen Probes.
• Analyze ULF-timescale magnetic field variations using the co-located DC magnetometer data mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 stratospheric balloon flights across four campaigns, providing multiple observational points.
• Spectra cover a defined nominal energy range of 0 MeV to 4 MeV across 48 channels.
• Campaigns were coordinated with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground-based instruments like EISCAT.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data files are in specialized formats (BIN, PDF, TEXT, HTML) which may require specific tools for analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measured by X-ray spectrometers and DC magnetometers carried on stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

2013 to 2016

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 13:27:00.150405; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Antarctica (Halley Bay, SANAE IV) and Kiruna, Sweden