BARREL 3G Rate Counter (RCNT) NaI Scintillator Diagnostics, Level 2, 4 s Data

BARREL 3G Rate Counter data consists of 4-second accumulations of uncalibrated X-ray count rates from balloon-borne scintillators. The BARREL mission, a NASA Living with a Star project, launched over 50 stratospheric balloons from Antarctica (2013-2014) and Sweden (2015-2016) to study relativistic electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. The data was collected to augment the Van Allen Probes mission and characterize the spatial scale of electron precipitation.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal variations in relativistic electron precipitation based on 4-second count rate accumulations.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of radiation belt precipitation events based on multi-balloon array measurements.
• Correlating balloon-based X-ray measurements with in-situ plasma wave and particle data from the Van Allen Probes.
• Studying Ultra Low Frequency (ULF) magnetic field variations using the accompanying DC magnetometer data mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data was collected from over 50 balloon flights across four campaigns spanning 2013 to 2016.
• Measurements were coordinated with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground/space-based instruments like EISCAT.
• The balloon array was designed to cover about six hours of magnetic local time, providing spatial context.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Rate count values are uncalibrated and have an upper wrap limit near or above 16384 counts per second.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale statistical analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from rate counters on BARREL stratospheric balloons carrying X-ray spectrometers and DC magnetometers.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 12:02:50.136639; 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).