S-MODE PRISM: Airborne Ocean Color Data for Sub-Mesoscale Dynamics

Fall 2022 data from the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) provides estimated chlorophyll-a and particulate organic carbon concentrations from approximately 300 km offshore of San Francisco. The Portable Remote Imaging Spectrometer (PRISM), mounted on a GIII aircraft, captured this Level 2 data with a pushbroom imaging spectrometer operating from 350-1050 nm and a co-aligned SWIR radiometer for atmospheric correction. This dataset is designed to study how short-spatial-scale ocean dynamics influence the vertical exchange of physical and biological variables.

Use Cases

• Analyzing phytoplankton biomass distribution based on estimated chlorophyll-a concentration.
• Studying carbon cycling in the ocean's surface layer using particulate organic carbon data.
• Investigating sub-mesoscale (1-10 km) ocean feature influence on vertical exchange, as per the S-MODE mission objective.
• Validating satellite ocean color products with high-resolution airborne spectrometer data resolving features as small as 30 cm.
• Applying atmospheric correction models using co-aligned short-wave infrared (1240 nm and 1640 nm) radiometer data.

Strengths

• Data resolves spatial features as small as 30 cm, indicating very high spatial resolution.
• Covers a specific, scientifically targeted field campaign (S-MODE IOP1) conducted approximately 300 km offshore of San Francisco.
• Instrument suite includes a co-aligned SWIR radiometer specifically for accurate atmospheric correction of ocean color.

Limitations

• Column names and specific data structure are not provided in the available metadata.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between sources (2023-05-10 and 2026-04 09), creating uncertainty about metadata freshness.
• Exact file size and row count are unknown, limiting assessment of dataset scale.

Provenance

Source

POCLOUD (as listed on nasa_earthdata).

Collection Method

Airborne remote sensing via the Portable Remote Imaging Spectrometer (PRISM) mounted on a GIII aircraft.

Time Range

Fall 2022.

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:51:41.495857

Geography

Approximately 300 km offshore of San Francisco, California, USA.