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Description

This dataset contains Saildrone in-situ measurements taken during the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) conducted approximately 300 km offshore of San Francisco during a pilot campaign over two weeks in October 2021, and an intensive operating period (IOP) in Fall 2022. S-MODE aims to understand how ocean dynamics acting on short spatial scales influence the vertical exchange of physical and biological variables in the ocean. Saildrones are wind-and-solar-powered unmanned surface vehicles rigged with atmospheric and oceanic sensors that measure upper ocean horizontal velocities, near-surface temperature and salinity, Chlorophyll-a fluorescence, dissolved oxygen concentration, 5-m winds, air temperature, and surface radiation. Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data samples originally measured at 1 Hz frequency are averaged into 5 minute bins, along with navigation data. Non-ADCP data from IOP1 contain additional bio-optical measurements. All data are available in netCDF format.

Product Summary

Platforms
Saildrone
Instruments
ADCP
Spatial Extent

N: 38.1 S: 36.3 E: -122.9 W: -125.4

Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2021-09-01 to 2022-10-31
Data Partner
Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/PODAAC)
Concept ID
C2766903177-POCLOUD
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
18
Processing Level
2
Science Keywords
Conductivity ,
Chlorophyll ,
Salinity ,
Sea Surface Temperature ,
Atmospheric Pressure Measurements ,
Atmospheric Temperature ,
Oxygen

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Rocha, C. B. (2023). S-MODE L2 Temperature and Salinity from Saildrones Version 1 [Data set]. NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/SMODE-SDRON Date Accessed: 2025-12-14

Documents

Variables

Variables are a set of physical properties whose values determine the characteristics or behavior of something. For example, temperature and pressure are variables of the atmosphere. Parameters and variables can be used interchangeably. Variable level attributes provide individual information for each variable.

The Name in this table is the variable name. Fill value indicates missing or undefined data points in a variable. Valid range is the range of values the variable can store. Scale factor is used to increase or decrease the size of an object and can be used to correct for distortion. For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
bt_amp bottom track echo amplitude Counts double -9999 N/A 1
bt_cor Bottom track correlation Counts double -9999 N/A 1
bt_percent_good Bottom track percent good Percent double -9999 N/A 1
bt_range Bottom track range cm double -9999 N/A 1
bt_vel_east Bottom track velocity east (mm)s-1 double -9999 N/A 1
bt_vel_north Bottom track velocity north (mm)s-1 double -9999 N/A 1
bt_vel_up Bottom track velocity up (mm)s-1 double -9999 N/A 1
cell_depth cell_depth N/A double N/A N/A 1
correlation Correlation Counts double -9999 N/A 1
echo_intensity Echo amplitude Counts double -9999 N/A 1
error_vel Error of velocity ms-1 double -9999 N/A 1
heading Vehicle heading Degree double -9999 N/A 1
latitude Latitude degrees_north double N/A N/A 1
longitude Longitude degrees_east double N/A N/A 1
nav_end_latitude Latitude of ensemble end degrees_north double -9999 N/A 1
nav_end_longitude Longitude of ensemble end degrees_east double -9999 N/A 1
nav_end_time Navigation end time N/A double -9999 N/A 1
nav_start_latitude Latitude of ensemble start degrees_north double -9999 N/A 1
nav_start_longitude Longitude of ensemble start degrees_east double -9999 N/A 1
nav_start_time Navigation start time N/A double -9999 N/A 1
percent_good Total percent of good pings per ensemble Percent double -9999 N/A 1
percent_good_3_beam Percent of good pings per ensemble using 3-beam solution Percent double -9999 N/A 1
percent_good_4_beam Percent of good pings per ensemble using 4-beam solution Percent double -9999 N/A 1
pitch platform pitch angle Degree double -9999 N/A 1
roll platform roll angle Degree double -9999 N/A 1
time time N/A double N/A N/A 1
trajectory A trajectory is a single deployment of a drone N/A float N/A N/A 1
vehicle_vel_east Vehicle velocity eastward (mm)s-1 double -9999 N/A 1
vehicle_vel_north Vehicle velocity northward (mm)s-1 double -9999 N/A 1
vehicle_vel_up Vehicle velocity upward (mm)s-1 double -9999 N/A 1
vel_east East velocity ms-1 double -9999 N/A 1
vel_north North velocity ms-1 double -9999 N/A 1
vel_up Vertical velocity up ms-1 double -9999 N/A 1
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