MMS 4 DSP Search Coil Magnetometer Magnetic Field Power Spectral Density, 16 s Data

NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission magnetic field power spectral density (BPSD) data, computed onboard by a Digital Signal Processor. The data is derived from Search Coil Magnetometer (SCM) signals via a 1024-point FFT algorithm, producing spectra with 88 pseudo-logarithmic frequency bins and a dynamic range over 120 dB. The dataset was last updated on March 13, -2026.

Use Cases

• Analyzing plasma density from narrow-band emissions based on spectral accuracy of (del f)/f ~3%.
• Studying magnetic wave power spectra based on 88 pseudo-logarithmic frequency bins.
• Investigating signal dynamics based on data with over 120 dB of dynamic range.
• Examining onboard digital signal processing techniques based on the described FPGA and FFT implementation.

Strengths

• Data has over 120 dB of dynamic range at ~5% precision.
• Spectral processing uses a 1024-point FFT with a Hanning window.
• Spectra are reduced to 88 frequency bins with (del f)/f between 6% and 12%.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Timing between measurement channels can be inaccurate by a fraction of a second.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Onboard computation by the MMS 4 Digital Signal Processor from Search Coil Magnetometer analog signals.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 05:59:26.869484; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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