BARREL 3A Magnetometer: Magnetic Field Data from Stratospheric Balloon Campaigns

The BARREL mission conducted balloon campaigns in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 from Antarctica and Sweden. Over 50 stratospheric balloons carried tri-axial fluxgate magnetometers, providing 0.25-second resolution magnetic field data to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. The data was collected by NASA as part of the Living with a Star program to augment the Van Allen Probes mission.

Use Cases

• Analyzing ULF-timescale magnetic field variations based on the tri-axial DC magnetometer measurements
• Studying spatial and temporal scales of relativistic electron precipitation based on coordinated balloon and satellite observations
• Characterizing magnetic field perturbations in the stratosphere based on data collected near the Antarctic and Arctic circles

Strengths

• Data is part of a coordinated multi-instrument campaign involving over 90 researchers and 7 satellite missions
• Over 50 balloon flights were launched across four separate campaigns, providing repeated observations
• Data collection was coordinated with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground-based instruments

Limitations

• Data are neither gain corrected nor despun, which may require additional processing for some analyses
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from tri-axial DC magnetometers carried on approximately 20 kg stratospheric balloons

Time Range

Campaigns conducted in January-February 2013 and 2014, and August 2015 and 2016

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 12:25:20.756075; freshness should be verified

Geography

Launches from Halley Bay and SANAE IV base in Antarctica, and Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden