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Description

This dataset contains waveglider observations from 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. Three wave gliders were deployed as part of the S-MODE pilot campaign, equipped with a suite of sensors including sonic anemometers, shortwave and longwave radiometers, CTD profilers, and ADCPs. All wave gliders include an IMU that records platform orientation and motion at 20Hz. Data are available in netCDF format.

Product Summary

Platforms
Wave Glider
Instruments
CTD ,
ADCP ,
MMS ,
CURRENT METERS
Spatial Extent

N: 38.2 S: 36.3 E: -122.1 W: -126.2

Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2022-09-20 to 2023-05-13
Data Partner
Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/PODAAC)
Concept ID
C3582930396-POCLOUD
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
17
Processing Level
2
Science Keywords
Conductivity ,
Surface Winds ,
OCEAN TEMPERATURE PROFILES ,
Ocean Circulation ,
SURFACE CURRENTS ,
Salinity ,
Air Temperature ,
Surface Pressure

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. (2025). SMODE L3 WAVEGLIDERS TEMP SALINITY V1 [Data set]. NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/SMODE-WAVEGL3 Date Accessed: 2026-02-20

Documents

Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
gill_air_temperature this variable still contains lots of outliers from sea spray in the volume of measurement. Removing these outliers requires a high quality spikes removal technique. degrees_C float N/A -10 to 40 1
gill_wind_direction Wind direction measured clockwise, 0 = true north degrees float N/A 0 to 360 1
gill_wind_down this variable still contains lots of outliers from sea spray in the volume of measurement. Removing these outliers requires a high quality spikes removal technique. m s-1 float N/A -15 to 15 1
gill_wind_east this variable still contains lots of outliers from sea spray in the volume of measurement. Removing these outliers requires a high quality spikes removal technique. m s-1 float N/A -30 to 30 1
gill_wind_north this variable still contains lots of outliers from sea spray in the volume of measurement. Removing these outliers requires a high quality spikes removal technique. m s-1 float N/A -30 to 30 1
gill_wind_speed this variable still contains lots of outliers from sea spray in the volume of measurement. Removing these outliers requires a high quality spikes removal technique. m s-1 float N/A 0 to 30 1
gpsimu_altitude Height of Wave Glider above mean sea level measured by Novatel GPS m float N/A N/A 1
gpsimu_angle_rate_x Wave glider Novatel uncompensated angular rate measured by Novatel IMU about X-axis pointing forward; sign defined by the right-hand rule. rad s-1 float N/A -5 to 5 1
gpsimu_angle_rate_y Wave glider Novatel uncompensated angular rate measured by Novatel IMU about Y-axis pointind toward starboard; sign defined by the right-hand rule. rad s-1 float N/A -5 to 5 1
gpsimu_angle_rate_z Wave glider Novatel uncompensated angular rate measured by Novatel IMU about Z-axis pointing downward at rest; ; sign defined by the right-hand rule. rad s-1 float N/A -5 to 5 1
gpsimu_heading Wave Glider heading measured by Novatel GPS/IMU. Rotation around the Z-axis pointing downward at rest. Angle between the true north and the wave glider bow direction; sign defined by the right-hand rule. degree float N/A 0 to 360 1
gpsimu_heave heave motion of wave glider derived from NOVATEL GPS/IMU altitude m float N/A -10 to 10 1
gpsimu_pitch Wave Glider pitch measured by Novatel GPS/IMU. Rotation around the Y-axis pointing toward starboard; sign defined by the right-hand rule. degree float N/A -90 to 90 1
gpsimu_roll Wave Glider roll measured by Novatel IMU. Rotation around the X-axis pointing forward; sign defined by the right-hand rule. degree float N/A -180 to 180 1
gpsimu_u_east_waveglider Wave Glider zonal velocity component measured by Novatel GPS m s-1 float N/A -10 to 10 1
gpsimu_u_north_waveglider Wave Glider meridional velocity component measured by Novatel GPS m s-1 float N/A -10 to 10 1
gpsimu_u_up_waveglider Wave Glider upward velocity measured by Novatel GPS m s-1 float N/A -10 to 10 1
INST_Gill Gill R3-50 Ultrasonic Anemometer N/A double N/A N/A 1
INST_IR02 Hukseflux IR02 longwave radiometer N/A double N/A N/A 1
INST_Nortek Nortek ADCP data will be provided in a separate NetCDF file. N/A double N/A N/A 1
INST_NOVATEL_RT NOVATEL OEM7720 Dual-Antenna Multi-Frequency GNSS Receiver combined with EG320N IMU. Real-Time products. N/A double N/A N/A 1
INST_RBR_Concerto_SIO Pressure is absolute; atmospheric pressure has not been subtracted. N/A double N/A N/A 1
INST_RDI Internal recording ended at internal timestamp 2023-05-03 20:55:04. N/A double N/A N/A 1
INST_SITEX SI-TEX Vector Compact GPS Compass N/A double N/A N/A 1
INST_SR03 Hukseflux SR03 shortwave radiometer N/A double N/A N/A 1
INST_upper_ctd none N/A double N/A N/A 1
INST_WXT WXT pressure sensor was badly waterproofed and atmospheric_pressure was off. PTU sensor failed around 2023-04-13 14:45 N/A double N/A N/A 1
IR02_longwave_flux Downwelling longwave flux in air measured by IR02 W m-2 float N/A 200 to 500 1
latitude Latitude of waveglider measured by Sitex GPS degrees_north double N/A N/A 1
longitude Longitude of waveglider measured by Sitex GPS degrees_east double N/A N/A 1
sitex_altitude Altitude estimated using L1 GPS. Altitude accuracy is limited to 10m m float N/A N/A 1
sitex_heading Wave glider heading measured by Sitex GPS, clockwise with respect to true north degree float N/A 0 to 360 1
sitex_heave High-pass filtered height of Wave Glider above mean sea level measured at 10Hz by Sitex GPS m float N/A N/A 1
sitex_u_east_waveglider Wave Glider zonal velocity component measured by Sitex GPS m s-1 float N/A -10 to 10 1
sitex_u_north_waveglider Wave Glider meridional velocity component measured by Sitex GPS m s-1 float N/A -10 to 10 1
sitex_u_up_waveglider Wave Glider upward velocity measured by Sitex GPS m s-1 float N/A -10 to 10 1
SR03_shortwave_flux Downwelling shortwave flux in air measured by SR03 W m-2 float N/A 0 to 2000 1
time time seconds since 2000-01-01 double N/A N/A 1
UCTD_conductivity Upper SeaBird GPCTD conductivity measurement S m-1 float N/A 3 to 6 1
UCTD_density Upper SeaBird GPCTD sea water in-situ density kg m-3 float N/A 1000 to 1040 1
UCTD_salinity Upper SeaBird GPCTD sea surface practical salinity measurement 1 float N/A 30 to 36 1
UCTD_sea_water_temperature Upper SeaBird GPCTD sea water temperature degrees_C float N/A -1 to 32 1
wave_direction Wave direction degree float -9999 0 to 360 1
wave_frequency Sea surface wave frequencies measured by wave glider s-1 float N/A N/A 1
wave_latitude Latitude of waveglider float measured by the Wave Glider GPS/IMU degrees_north float -9999 N/A 1
wave_longitude Longitude of waveglider float measured by the Wave Glider GPS/IMU degrees_east float -9999 N/A 1
wave_significant_height Significant wave height m float -9999 0 to 10 1
wave_Szz Wave power spectral density m^2/Hz float -9999 1.0E-5 to 100 1
wave_time Start of 15 minute sea surface wave sampling period seconds since 2000-01-01T00:00:00+00:00 double N/A N/A 1
WXT_air_temperature Air temperature measured by WXT530 degrees_C float N/A -10 to 40 1
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