BARREL 4B: Balloon-Based Radiation Belt Electron Precipitation Measurements

Antarctic and Arctic stratospheric balloon campaigns from 2013 to 2016 collected this data. The BARREL mission, a NASA Living with a Star project, measured relativistic electron precipitation using X-ray spectrometers and magnetometers. Over 50 small balloons were launched, providing 4-second accumulations of rate counter diagnostics.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal variations in electron precipitation based on 4-second rate count accumulations.
• Study spatial scales of relativistic electron precipitation based on balloon array measurements across magnetic local time.
• Correlate balloon-based X-ray measurements with in-situ plasma wave data from the Van Allen Probes mission.
• Model radiation belt electron losses based on diagnostic rate counter fields with uncalibrated energy ranges.

Strengths

• Data spans four campaigns from 2013 to 2016, providing multi-year coverage.
• Over 50 stratospheric balloon launches created an evolving observational array.
• Coordinated with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground/space-based instruments for contextual analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Rate count values are uncalibrated and may wrap near or above 16384 counts/s.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

2013 to 2016

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 11:53:58.128113; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Balloon launches from Halley Bay and SANAE IV in Antarctica (2013-2014) and Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden (2015-2016).