BARREL 3B: Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra from Balloon Campaigns for Radiation Belt Studies

48 channels of medium time resolution (4-second) Bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra, covering an energy range from 0 MeV to 4 MeV, were collected by the BARREL mission. The data was gathered by NASA via over 50 stratospheric balloon flights launched from Antarctica (2013-2014) and Sweden (2015-2016) to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. This mission was designed to coordinate with the Van Allen Probes and other ground-based instruments.

Use Cases

• Modeling relativistic electron precipitation events based on the 48-channel X-ray spectra.
• Analyzing temporal correlations between balloon-based X-ray measurements and in-situ satellite data from the Van Allen Probes.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of precipitation at relativistic energies using the multi-balloon array data.
• Studying Ultra-Low Frequency (ULF) magnetic field variations in conjunction with X-ray spectrometer measurements.

Strengths

• Data covers four distinct campaigns from 2013 to 2016, providing multi-year temporal coverage.
• Over 50 balloon flights provide spatial measurements from both Antarctic and Arctic regions.
• 48 spectral channels offer medium time resolution (4 seconds) across a defined 0-4 MeV energy range.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale ML tasks.
• Data files are in specialized formats (BIN, PDF, TEXT, HTML), which may require specific tools for processing.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 12:17:40.839551; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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