BARREL 2Y Rate Counter: Balloon-Measured Electron Precipitation Diagnostics, 4 s Data

Rate counter diagnostics from the BARREL balloon mission measuring electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. The data consists of 4-second accumulations of uncalibrated X-ray counts from NaI scintillators, collected during campaigns from 2013 to 2016 in Antarctica and Sweden. Over 50 stratospheric balloons were launched by NASA as part of this Living with a Star Mission of Opportunity.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal variations in electron precipitation based on 4-second rate count accumulations.
• Study spatial scales of relativistic electron precipitation using data from a multi-balloon array.
• Correlate balloon-based X-ray measurements with in-situ plasma wave and particle data from the Van Allen Probes.
• Investigate ULF-timescale magnetic field variations using the complementary DC magnetometer data mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 balloon flights across four campaigns (2013-2016).
• Provides coordinated measurements with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground/space instruments.
• Offers the first balloon measurements of relativistic electron precipitation with concurrent in-situ data.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Rate count values are uncalibrated and have a wrap limit 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 stratospheric balloons carrying X-ray spectrometers and DC magnetometers.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 12:29:18.308405; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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