S-MODE: Ocean Temperature and Salinity from NAVO APEX Floats

APEX float in-situ measurements of subsurface ocean properties were collected during the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) field campaign. The data, gathered approximately 300 km offshore of San Francisco in Spring 2023, aims to understand how short-scale ocean dynamics influence vertical exchange of physical and biological variables. The US Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVO) floats measured temperature and salinity, with data available in netCDF format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of temperature and salinity to study ocean stratification.
• Investigating sub-mesoscale dynamics and their role in vertical exchange processes.
• Validating satellite-derived sea surface salinity and temperature products with in-situ data.
• Assimilating observational data into high-resolution ocean circulation models.

Strengths

• Data originates from a focused field campaign (S-MODE) with a clear scientific objective.
• Measurements are from specialized US Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVO) APEX floats, suggesting calibrated instrumentation.
• The dataset is hosted on multiple authoritative platforms (Data.gov and NASA EarthData), indicating curation and importance.

Limitations

• Column names and precise row/size counts are not provided in any source, limiting immediate usability assessment.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (2026 on Data.gov vs. 2023 on NASA EarthData) create uncertainty about metadata maintenance.
• The license is listed only as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms.

Provenance

Source

US Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVO), collected for the S-MODE campaign.

Collection Method

In-situ measurements from APEX profiling floats.

Time Range

Spring 2023.

Freshness

Last updated dates conflict: Data.gov lists 2026-03-12 and 2026-04-09, while NASA EarthData lists 2023-08-01.

Geography

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