BARREL 4D Rate Counter: 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 uncalibrated rate counts from NaI scintillators to study relativistic electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. Over 50 small balloons were launched, providing 4-second accumulations of diagnostic count data.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal variations in electron precipitation based on 4-second rate count accumulations.
• Studying spatial scales of relativistic electron precipitation events using balloon array data.
• Correlating balloon-based X-ray measurements with in-situ plasma wave data from the Van Allen Probes.
• Investigating ULF-timescale magnetic field variations using accompanying magnetometer data mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data spans four campaigns from 2013 to 2016, providing multi-year coverage.
• Over 50 stratospheric balloon payloads were launched, offering a spatial array.
• Coordinated measurements with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground/space instruments.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from rate counters on stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

2013 to 2016

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 11:45:16.422926; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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