BARREL 2M: Tri-axial Magnetometer Data from Stratospheric Balloon Campaigns

Over 50 stratospheric balloons launched between 2013 and 2016 carried tri-axial fluxgate magnetometers to measure magnetic field variations. The BARREL mission, a NASA Living with a Star project, collected this data from Antarctic and Arctic latitudes at about 30 km altitude to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. Data files are in BIN, PDF, TEXT, and HTML formats, providing three-axis measurements at 0.25-second resolution without gain correction or despinning.

Use Cases

• Analyzing ULF-timescale magnetic field variations based on three-axis DC magnetometer measurements.
• Studying spatial and temporal scales of relativistic electron precipitation by correlating with X-ray spectrometer data mentioned in the description.
• Modeling magnetospheric conditions by using balloon-based magnetic field data collected near the Antarctic and Arctic circles.
• Investigating the spatial scale of precipitation at relativistic energies, a stated use of the BARREL data.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 balloon flights across four campaigns (2013-2016), providing substantial observational coverage.
• Measurements taken at stratospheric altitudes (~30 km) near polar regions, offering a unique vantage point.
• Coordinated with multiple satellite missions and ground-based instruments like the Van Allen Probes and EISCAT radar.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from tri-axial DC magnetometers carried on approximately 20 kg stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 13:09:58.418886; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Launches from Halley Bay and SANAE IV base in Antarctica (2013-2014) and Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden (2015-2016).