BARREL 3F Magnetometer: Magnetic Field Data from Stratospheric Balloons

Over 50 stratospheric balloon flights were conducted between 2013 and 2016 from Antarctica and Sweden. This dataset contains tri-axial fluxgate magnetometer measurements at 0.25-second intervals, collected by NASA's BARREL mission to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. The data are not gain corrected or despun.

Use Cases

• Analyze ULF-timescale magnetic field variations based on three-axis DC magnetometer measurements
• Study spatial and temporal patterns of electron precipitation based on balloon array observations across magnetic local time
• Correlate magnetic field data with X-ray spectrometer measurements from the same payloads
• Characterize the spatial scale of precipitation at relativistic energies based on multi-balloon campaign data

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 balloon flights across four campaigns
• High temporal resolution of 0.25 seconds for magnetic field measurements
• Coordinated observations with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground/space instruments

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:33:44.771599; freshness should be verified

Geography

Launch sites: Halley Bay (Antarctica), SANAE IV base (Antarctica), Esrange Space Center (Kiruna, Sweden). Observations near Antarctic and Arctic circles at stratospheric altitudes (~30 km).