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Description

This dataset contains shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurements from the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) during a pilot campaign and two intensive operating periods (IOPs) conducted approximately 300 km offshore of San Francisco during Fall 2021, 2022, and Spring 2023. 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. The ADCP was mounted to the bottom of the hulls of the research vessels deployed during each campaign, measuring horizontal and vertical currents, as well as acoustic backscatter from approximately 3 m to 50 m depth along the ship’s track. The data are available in netCDF format with dimensions of time and depth.

Product Summary

Platforms
Ships
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
2021-10-19 to 2023-05-06
Data Partner
Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/PODAAC)
Concept ID
C2830022538-POCLOUD
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
4
Processing Level
2
Science Keywords
Ocean Temperature ,
CURRENT PROFILES

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

S-MODE. (2022). S-MODE L2 Shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler Measurements Version 1 [Data set]. NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/SMODE-RVADC 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
depth Depth of Shipboard ADCP Measurement and Bin Center m double N/A N/A 1
editing_flag Profile Flags based on editing, used to mask u, v. N/A double N/A N/A 1
latitude Latitude of Shipboard ADCP Measurement degrees_north double N/A N/A 1
longitude Longitude of Shipboard ADCP Measurement degrees_east double N/A N/A 1
meridional_velocity Sea Water Meridional Velocity m s-1 double -9999 -5 to 5 1
number_of_pings Number of Pings Averaged per Ensemble 1 double N/A 0 to 300 1
percent_good_pings Percent Good pings for u, v averaging after editing. percent double -9999 0 to 100 1
ship_heading Mean ship heading during the ensemble degrees double -9999 0 to 360 1
ship_meridional_velocity Ship Meridional Velocity m s-1 double -9999 -10 to 10 1
ship_zonal_velocity Ship Zonal Velocity m s-1 double -9999 -10 to 10 1
signal_strength Received signal strength in ADCP-specific units; no correction for spreading or attenuation. amp double -9999 0 to 200 1
time Time Shipboard ADCP Measurement days since 1950-01-01 double N/A N/A 1
trajectory Trajectory ID: hash based on cruise ID, instrument, and ping type N/A double N/A N/A 1
transducer_temperature Temperature of Transducer degrees_c double -9999 0 to 20 1
zonal_velocity Sea Water Zonal Velocity m s-1 double -9999 -5 to 5 1
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