Daily Schedule

Here is the S-MODE Plan of the Day for Monday, April 10:

Updates:

  • The R/V Sally Ride departed San Diego on Saturday at ~8pm local. Good luck to the science party!
  • The B200 and the MASS Twin Otter will be ready to go on Monday, but the flight outlook for optical instruments is marginal due to forecast low clouds.
  • The LaRC G-III is scheduled to arrive at Moffett Field Monday afternoon.

Aircraft schedule:

  • ~1000L: LaRC G-III departs Langley AFB
  • 1130L: Preflight meeting for B200 SF#4
  • ~1300L: LaRC G-III arrives at Moffett Field
  • NET 1300L: B200 SF#4 takeoff
  • TBD afternoon (cloud conditions): MASS TO SF#1 takeoff

Ship and in situ plan:

  • Wave Gliders and Seagliders are currently surveying a large western portion of the ops area.
  • RV Sally Ride is steaming toward the ops area, with an ETA of Monday evening.

Meeting schedule:

Here’s the S-MODE Plan of the Day for Saturday, April 8 (all times Pacific):

Saturday, April 8

Updates:

  • The data center is operating! http://smode.whoi.edu
  • The B200 completed their second science flight of the campaign, with both DopplerScatt and MOSES collecting data.
  • The MASS Twin Otter arrived at the Monterey Regional Airport. There is a mechanical issue with the aircraft, so the hope is that the first science flight can occur on Monday, April 10th.
  • Sunday, April 9th will be a hard down day at NASA ARC.
  • The LaRC G-III will transit as scheduled on Monday, April 10th.

Aircraft schedule:

  • 0645:  Preflight meeting for B200 SF#3
  • 0730:  B200 SF#3 takeoff

Ship and in situ plan:

  • Wave Gliders transiting to the SWOT region.
  • Mobilization on the Sally Ride continues.

Meeting schedule:

Here’s the S-MODE Plan of the Day for Friday, April 7 (all times Pacific):

Friday, April 7

Updates:

  • The B200 completed their first science flight of the campaign, and DopplerScatt completed a successful survey. Tomorrow the B200 will fly again for a MOSES SST data collection.
  • The MASS Twin Otter will transit to Monterey Regional Airport tomorrow.
  • The LaRC G-III will transit as scheduled on Monday, April 10th.

Aircraft schedule:

  • 1030:  Preflight meeting for B200 SF#2
  • 1200:  B200 SF#2 takeoff

Ship and in situ plan:

  • Wave Gliders will continue making long lines to survey the ops area.
  • Seagliders and NAVO gliders will continue on the patterns they are on.
  • Mobilization on the Sally Ride begins. The ship will be open at 0800. 
    • Cruise participants: a reminder to bring your PCR test results to the ship's watch officer. They will administer an antigen self-test when you arrive at the gangway. Before you board, take the test and show your results to the gangway watch officer. Do not go aboard until you have provided negative test results.

Meeting schedule:

Here is the S-MODE Plan of the Day for Thursday, April 6 (all times Pacific).

Updates:

  • The B200 arrived at Moffett Field today at ~1530. The team is aiming for an 0800 takeoff tomorrow to log their first science flight of the campaign.
  • Weather for the remainder of the week is marginal for a B200 science flight, due to light winds and cloud cover. If the skies lift, MOSES SST data collection is a possibility, even if DopplerScatt data is poor.

 Aircraft schedule:

  • 0630:  Preflight meeting for B200 SF#1
  • 0800:  B200 SF#1 takeoff

 Meeting schedule:

Ship and in situ plan:

  • The seven Wave Gliders that are deployed will work to sample the northern SST front (near the area marked “Target” in the SST map below).
  • The Sally Ride science party is en route to San Diego with ship mobilization beginning on April 7.

Here is the S-MODE Plan of the Day for Wednesday, April 5.

Updates:

  • The B200 experienced a landing gear indicator light issue that prevented its transit to Moffett Field.
  • We will have an update on B200 aircraft status by 0830 tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 5 (all times Pacific)

Aircraft schedule:

  • Possible morning B200 transit to Moffett Field
  • Possible afternoon science flight (B200 SF#1)

Meeting schedule:

  • 1030: Planning Discussion (The purpose of this meeting is to discuss science and operational inputs for use in the Control Center meeting later in the day) - https://whoi-edu.zoom.us/j/97665299809
 

Here is the first Plan of the Day for S-MODE IOP-2 field operations!

Tuesday, April 4 (all times Pacific)

Aircraft schedule:

  • 0930:  B200 departs Edwards AFB
  • ~1100:  B200 arrives at Moffett Field
  • 1215:  Preflight meeting for B200 SF1
  • ~1400:  B200 SF1 takeoff

 Ship and in situ plan:

  • Four Seagliders are currently surveying in the S-MODE operations area. The Seagliders have completed two sections across a front of interest.
  • The seven Wave Gliders that are deployed will fan out across the ops area to provide the science team with a wide-angle survey of temperature and density.

Friday, October 28

Aircraft schedule:

  • No science - all aircraft in transit back to home base

Ship and in situ plan:

  • Bold Horizon
    • Recover floats
    • Survey as possible
    • Exit the frontal area to recover gliders - CTD cast(s) to 500m upon arrival near gliders before pick up.
  • Wave Gliders continue surveying eastward

Updates:

  • No more control center or operator meetings!
  • All three aircraft flew a final science flight of the campaign over a still evolving frontal feature. The B200 has now flown 18 flights, the Otter has flown 13, and the G-III has flown 8.
  • The Lagrangian floats are completing their “W Experiment” and have captured good vertical velocity data– early results show a favorable comparison of this proven method (Lagranigian floats) to DopplerScatt estimates of vertical velocity .
  • Bold Horizon has continued surveying the front.
  • Wave Gliders will hold their formation for a few more days before moving east to follow the front.
  • Go to https://smode.whoi.edu/smode_netlink.kml for a Google Earth view of the real time autonomous platform positions.

Thursday, October 27

Aircraft schedule:

  • 1030:  G-III SF8 takeoff
  • 1030-1130:  Twin Otter SF12 takeoff
  • NET 1100:  B200 SF18 takeoff

Ship and in situ plan:

  • Bold Horizon -  Radiometer and W experiment
    • CTDs after midnight with EcoCTD
    • Second day of W experiment plane/float comparisons mostly in the afternoon
    • Continue surveys of evolving meanders
    • Bio-team sampling during PRISM and MASS overflights
  • Wave Gliders continue formation for now but will assist in survey in coming days.
  • Saildrone data stream stops at 8AM.

Science team meeting schedule:

Updates:

  • The frontal feature that have been the centerpiece of the experiment over the past several days continues evolving, and the evolution is being captured by all S-MODE science platforms. The satellite image of SST above shows the frontal area overlaid with DopplerScatt current streamlines from this morning’s B200 flight. Lagrangian floats, Wave Gliders, and Saildrones can also be seen.
  • All three aircraft flew on a beautiful day today, with both the B200 and Twin Otter completing two flights each, and the G-III completing a full afternoon collection. The B200 has now flown 17 flights, the Otter has flown 12, and the G-III has flown 7.
  • The Lagrangian floats were deployed and have begun a “W Experiment” to measure vertical velocity.
  • Bold Horizon performed a cross survey of dense water near the floats and will conduct radiometry measurements until midnight.
  • Saildrones have spread out and are headed east for their final day
  • Go to https://smode.whoi.edu/smode_netlink.kml for a Google Earth view of the real time autonomous platform positions.

Wednesday, October 26

Aircraft schedule:

  • 0830:  B200 SF16 takeoff
  • NET 1000:  G-III SF7 takeoff
  • 0800-1230 and 1330-1830:  Twin Otter SF10 & SF11 flight windows (weather permitting)
  • 1400:  B200 SF17 takeoff

Ship and in situ plan:

  • Bold Horizon -  Radiometer and W experiment
    • Lagrangian floats  - Redeploy Wednesday AM near Saildrones
    • EcoCTD as possible
    • Biology team - underway sampling, flyovers as possible
  • Saildrones will continue their current line. The data stream stops Thursday AM.
  • Wave Gliders are re-forming themselves to survey the front.

Science team meeting schedule:

Updates:

  • The data from the last few flights has really been extraordinary as exemplified in the figure above, which shows MOSES SST (colors) with coincident DopplerScatt streamlines, and several developing submesoscale eddies.
  • The B200 and Twin Otter conducted successful flights today. The G-III scrubbed their flight due to cloudy conditions over the ops area.
  • The Bold Horizon crew recovered the floats and will redeploy them tomorrow morning and conduct a “W Experiment” to measure vertical velocity.
  • The ship followed the Saildrones for radiometer comparisons.
  • Go to https://smode.whoi.edu/smode_netlink.kml for a Google Earth view of the real time autonomous platform positions.

Tuesday, October 25

Aircraft schedule:

  • NET 1030:  B200 SF15 takeoff
  • 1000-1130 (TBD):  Twin Otter SF9 takeoff
  • 1100:  G-III SF7 takeoff

Ship and in situ plan:

  • Bold Horizon
    • Transit to float location while surveying front. Float recovery ends Tues ~10am.
    • Day - Underway sampling during MASS and PRISM overflights - coordination to achieve coincident radiometric sample from BH. Line under MASS desirable.
    • Evening - Deploy ‘W floats’
    • Night - Radiometer & surveys
    • EcoCTD sections as possible
    • Planning/execution of CTD casts according to plan developed with Mara, Andrey, input from others (time/locations/depths TBD).
  • Saildrones continue moving their line to adjust for frontal movement.
  • Wave Glider triangles and lines continue to adjust position to track frontal movement.

Science team meeting schedule:

Updates:

  • Another great day by all accounts. All three aircraft completed flights on a clear day with ship and in situ assets strategically surveying the front.
  • Go to https://smode.whoi.edu/smode_netlink.kml for a Google Earth view of the real time autonomous platform positions.
  • Autonomous platform planned tracks are now incorporated into Google Earth in the KML share folder of the S-MODE Drive
Subscribe to Daily Schedule