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    • S-MODE L2 Position Data from Surface Drifters Version 1

    Metadata Updated: April 10, 2026

    This dataset contains in-situ position data from surface drifters from 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 two intensive operating periods (IOPs) 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. Drifting buoys were deployed from the research vessels and configured to nominally report positions every five minutes. Drifters deployed were a mixture of CARTHE and Microstar types. CARTHE drifters are drogued at 40 cm depth and measure the average horizontal velocity of currents in the upper 60 cm of the ocean (Novelli et al., 2017). Microstar drifters are drogued at 1 m depth and measure the average horizontal velocity of ocean currents between 0.4 m and 1.6 m depth (Ohlmann et al., 2005). See the S-MODE Data Submission Report sections 2.3.2.2, 2.4.2.2 and 2.5.2.3 for more information. Tracking and telemetry of the drifters is done by Pacific Gyre, Inc. The data are available in netCDF format with a dimension of time.

    Novelli, G., C. M. Guigand, C. Cousin, E. H. Ryan, N. J. M. Laxague, H. Dai, B. K. Haus, and T. M. Özgökmen, 2017: A Biodegradable Surface Drifter for Ocean Sampling on a Massive Scale. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 34, 2509–2532, https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-17-0055.1.

    Ohlmann, J. C., P. F. White, A. L. Sybrandy, and P. P. Niiler, 2005: GPS–Cellular Drifter Technology for Coastal Ocean Observing Systems. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 22, 1381–1388, https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH1786.1.

    Westbrook, E., Bingham, F. M., Brodnitz, S., Farrar, J. T., Rodriguez, E., & Zappa, C., (2024). Submesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) Data Submission Report. Technical Report. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI-2024-03, https://doi.org/10.1575/1912/69362

    Access & Use Information

    Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: See this page for license information.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date April 10, 2026

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NASA Data.json

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date April 10, 2026
    Publisher NASA/JPL/PODAAC
    Maintainer
    Identifier 10.5067/SMODE-DRIFT
    Data Last Modified 2026-04-06
    Category Earth Science
    Public Access Level public
    Bureau Code 026:00
    Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
    Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
    Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
    Harvest Object Id 6125aba0-c927-4e6e-9f37-e44c46743b40
    Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
    Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
    License https://www.usa.gov/government-works
    Old Spatial {"NorthBoundingCoordinate":38.1,"WestBoundingCoordinate":-125.4,"EastBoundingCoordinate":-122.9,"SouthBoundingCoordinate":36.3},"CARTESIAN"
    Program Code 026:000
    Source Datajson Identifier True
    Source Hash 105f0cd95d0d4f2d2ae1f811ebd5339d30194e5669a76bbfe53b0e975ede09dc
    Source Schema Version 1.1
    Spatial
    Temporal 2021-10-21/2023-12-31

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