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Description

This dataset contains shipboard conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) measurements taken during the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) field campaign. The experiment was conducted approximately 300 km offshore of San Francisco, during a pilot campaign that spanned two weeks in October 2021, and two intensive operating periods in Fall 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 shipboard CTD rosette is cast from the R/V Oceanus where it records ocean temperature, conductivity, and pressure as it descends to depth and then returns to the surface. IOP1 and IOP2 measurements also contain biological data. Data are available in netCDF format.

Product Summary

Platforms
Ships
Instruments
CTD
Spatial Extent

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

Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2021-08-01 to 2023-05-05
Data Partner
Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/PODAAC)
Concept ID
C2834159558-POCLOUD
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
20
Processing Level
2
Science Keywords
Salinity/Density ,
Attenuation/Transmission ,
Photosynthetically Active Radiation ,
Oxygen ,
Chlorophyll ,
Nitrate ,
Conductivity ,
OCEAN TEMPERATURE PROFILES ,
Salinity ,
OCEAN SALINITY 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 Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth Measurements Version 1 [Data set]. NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/SMODE-RVCTD 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
absolute_pressure_RBR RBR Absolute Pressure dbar double -9999 10 to 1000 1
absolute_salinity_RBR RBR Absolute Salinity g kg-1 double -9999 0 to 40 1
beam_attenuation_650nm_RBR RBR beam attenuation at 650 nm m-1 double -9999 0 to 5 1
calibrated_backscatter_700nm_RBR RBR backscatter at 700 nm with manufacturer’s calibrations applied, and temperature, salinity, and volume scattering function corrections applied m-1 sr-1 double -9999 0 to 1 1
chlorophyll_RBR RBR calibrated chlorophyll, cross calibrated with ship-based chlorophyll-a proxy ug L-1 double -9999 0 to 0.1 1
colored_dissolved_organic_matter_RBR RBR cdom fluorescence, raw 1 double -9999 0 to 200 1
conductivity Conductivity mS cm-1 double -9999 0 to 50 1
conductivity_RBR RBR Conductivity mS cm-1 double -9999 0 to 50 1
conservative_temperature_RBR RBR Conservative Water Temperature degrees_C double -9999 -2 to 30 1
depth Depth of Measurement m double N/A N/A 1
depth_RBR Depth of RBR Measurement m double N/A N/A 1
INST_RBR RBR Maestro - battery powered CTD that contains bio-optics N/A double N/A N/A 1
latitude Latitude of Measurement degrees_north double N/A N/A 1
longitude Longitude of Measurement degrees_east double N/A N/A 1
oxygen Oxygen Molar Concentration umol kg-1 double -9999 0 to 150 1
oxygen_RBR RBR Percent dissolved oxygen 1 double -9999 0 to 100 1
oxygen_saturation Oxygen Saturation percent double -9999 0 to 1.5 1
particulate_organic_carbon_RBR RBR particulate organic carbon, cross calibrated with ship based POC proxy umol L-1 double -9999 0 to 50 1
potential_density_RBR RBR Potential Density kg m-3 double -9999 990 to 1030 1
potential_temperature Water Potential Temperature degrees_C double -9999 -2 to 30 1
pressure Sea Water Pressure dbar double N/A 0 to 600 1
quality_flag Quality Flag N/A double -9999 N/A 1
raw_backscatter_700nm_RBR RBR raw backscatter at 700 nm 1 double -9999 0 to 10000 1
raw_chlorophyll_fluorescence_RBR RBR raw chlorophyll fluorescence 1 double -9999 0 to 100 1
salinity Salinity 1 double -9999 2 to 42 1
salinity_RBR RBR practical salinity from conductivity 1 double -9999 2 to 42 1
sea_pressure_RBR RBR Sea Pressure dbar double -9999 0 to 990 1
temperature Water Temperature degrees_C double -9999 -2 to 30 1
temperature_RBR RBR in situ temperature degrees_C double -9999 -2 to 30 1
time Time of Measurement days since 1950-01-01 double N/A N/A 1
transmittance_RBR RBR percent raw transmittance 1 double -9999 0 to 100 1
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