BARREL 2N: Tri-axial Magnetometer Data for Radiation Belt Studies

BARREL 2N Tri-axial Fluxgate Magnetometer data provides three-axis DC magnetic field measurements at 0.25-second resolution, collected by NASA's BARREL balloon mission. The mission launched over 50 stratospheric balloons from Antarctica (2013-2014) and Sweden (2015-2016) to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. Data are Level 2 processed with nominal conversions applied but are not gain-corrected or despun.

Use Cases

• Analyzing ULF-timescale magnetic field variations based on tri-axial DC magnetometer measurements.
• Correlating electron precipitation events with in-situ satellite measurements based on coordinated BARREL and Van Allen Probes mission data.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of relativistic electron precipitation based on balloon array measurements across magnetic local time.
• Studying magnetospheric dynamics by comparing balloon-borne magnetometer data with ground-based radar systems like EISCAT.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 stratospheric balloon flights across four campaigns.
• Coordinated measurements with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground/space-based instruments.
• High temporal resolution of 0.25 seconds for ULF-scale analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data are not gain-corrected or despun, which may require additional processing for certain analyses.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Measurements from tri-axial DC magnetometers carried on BARREL stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 13:04:02.171149; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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