BARREL 2P: Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra from Balloon Campaigns for Radiation Belt Studies

Four balloon campaigns conducted between 2013 and 2016 from Antarctica and Sweden collected this data. 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, detected with a NaI Scintillator. It was produced by NASA's BARREL mission to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts.

Use Cases

• Modeling radiation belt electron losses based on measured Bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra.
• Analyzing spatial and temporal scales of relativistic electron precipitation from the multi-balloon array data.
• Correlating balloon-based X-ray measurements with in-situ satellite data from missions like the Van Allen Probes.
• Studying the relationship between magnetic field variations and electron precipitation using the described instrumentation suite.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 stratospheric balloon flights across four campaigns, providing substantial observational coverage.
• Provides coordinated measurements with other instruments, including the Van Allen Probes and ground-based radar systems.
• Offers the first balloon measurements of relativistic electron precipitation alongside comprehensive in-situ wave and particle data.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific modeling tasks.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

2013 to 2016

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 12:59:42.265433; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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