BARREL 3D Magnetometer Data: Magnetic Field Measurements from Stratospheric Balloons

Tri-axial fluxgate magnetometer data from the BARREL balloon mission, providing magnetic field measurements at a 0.25-second resolution. The data were collected from over 50 stratospheric balloons launched during campaigns in Antarctica (2013-2014) and Sweden (2015-2016) at altitudes of about 30 km. The mission was a NASA Living with a Star project designed to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts.

Use Cases

• Analyzing ultra-low frequency (ULF) magnetic field variations based on tri-axial magnetometer measurements.
• Studying spatial and temporal scales of relativistic electron precipitation based on coordinated balloon and satellite observations.
• Correlating magnetic field perturbations with X-ray spectrometer data from the same balloon payloads.
• Investigating magnetospheric mapping and dynamics based on data collected from an array of balloons spread across magnetic local time.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 balloon flights across four campaigns, providing a multi-year observational record.
• Measurements were coordinated with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground/space-based instruments for contextual analysis.
• Provides high-resolution (0.25-second) tri-axial magnetic field data from a unique stratospheric platform.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by DC magnetometers on small stratospheric balloons launched from Antarctica and Sweden.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 12:13:30.547196; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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