BARREL 2Q Magnetometer: Magnetic Field Data from Balloon Campaigns

Antarctic and Arctic stratospheric balloon campaigns collected tri-axial magnetic field measurements. The BARREL mission, a NASA Living with a Star project, launched over 50 balloons between 2013 and 2016 to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. Data are provided at 0.25-second intervals without gain correction or despinning.

Use Cases

• Analyzing ULF-timescale magnetic field variations based on DC magnetometer measurements
• Characterizing spatial scales of relativistic electron precipitation based on balloon array observations
• Correlating precipitation events with in-situ plasma wave and particle data from satellite missions

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 stratospheric balloon flights across four campaigns
• Coordinated measurements with 7 different satellite missions and numerous ground-based instruments
• Provides first balloon measurements of relativistic electron precipitation alongside comprehensive in-situ data

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measured by DC magnetometers carried on stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

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

Geography

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