BARREL 4G: Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra from Balloon Campaigns, 10 ms Resolution

30 channels of ultra-fast time resolution Bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra collected at 10 ms intervals by the BARREL mission's balloon-borne instruments. The data were gathered during multiple campaigns from Antarctica (2013-2014) and Sweden (2015-2016) to study relativistic electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. The dataset is provided by NASA and includes raw channel count data with associated energy bin information.

Use Cases

• Analyze the temporal evolution of electron precipitation events based on the 10 ms time resolution X-ray spectra.
• Characterize the spatial scale of relativistic electron precipitation based on multi-balloon constellation measurements.
• Correlate balloon-based X-ray measurements with in-situ satellite plasma wave and particle data mentioned in the description.
• Study the relationship between magnetic field variations and X-ray spectra using the co-located DC magnetometer data referenced.

Strengths

• Provides ultra-fast time resolution data at 10 ms intervals across 30 energy channels.
• Data collection coordinated with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground/space-based instruments.
• Includes measurements from over 50 stratospheric balloon flights across four campaigns spanning 2013 to 2016.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data below 25 km altitude are not filtered out, requiring users to check altitude in separate EPHM files.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Measured by X-ray spectrometers and DC magnetometers carried on stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 11:22:40.592297; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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