BARREL 2N Rate Counter: Electron Precipitation Diagnostics from Balloon Campaigns

BARREL 2N Rate Counter data consists of 4-second accumulations of uncalibrated diagnostic measurements from balloon-borne scintillators. The data was collected by NASA's BARREL mission, which launched over 50 stratospheric balloons from Antarctica and Sweden between 2013 and 2016 to study electron losses from Earth's radiation belts. Observations were made near the Antarctic and Arctic circles at altitudes of about 30 km.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal patterns of electron precipitation based on 4-second rate count accumulations.
• Study spatial scales of relativistic electron precipitation based on data from a slowly moving balloon array.
• Correlate balloon-based precipitation measurements with in-situ plasma wave and particle data from the Van Allen Probes.
• Characterize the energy range of precipitating electrons based on uncalibrated scintillator diagnostics.

Strengths

• Data spans four distinct balloon campaigns conducted between 2013 and 2016.
• Over 50 stratospheric balloon payloads were launched, providing multiple observation points.
• Measurements were coordinated with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground and space-based instruments.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Rate count values are uncalibrated and 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 balloon-borne X-ray spectrometers.

Time Range

2013-2016

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:44:53.945028; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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