BARREL 3D Ephemeris: Balloon GPS and Magnetic Coordinates at 4-Second Intervals

BARREL 3D Ephemeris Level 2 data provides geographic and magnetic coordinates from a NASA multi-balloon mission. The dataset contains balloon epoch time, latitude, longitude, and altitude measurements returned every 4 seconds from over 50 stratospheric balloon flights conducted between 2013 and 2016. Geographic coordinates were obtained from onboard GPS, while magnetic coordinates were derived using the IRBEM library.

Use Cases

• Analyzing relativistic electron precipitation spatial scales based on balloon X-ray spectrometer measurements mentioned in the description
• Correlating magnetic field variations with electron loss events based on the onboard DC magnetometer data
• Studying the temporal evolution of precipitation events using the 4-second time resolution of the ephemeris
• Mapping balloon trajectories to radiation belt regions based on the magnetic local time array strategy described

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 balloon flights across four campaigns from 2013 to 2016
• Coordinates are provided at a high temporal resolution of once every 4 seconds
• Data is coordinated with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground-based instruments like EISCAT radar

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• 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 onboard GPS and DC magnetometer units on stratospheric balloons, with magnetic coordinates derived using the IRBEM FORTRAN library.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 12:10:49.728890; 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).