Federica Polverari, post doctorate researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in front of NASA's Beechcraft B-200 Super King Air, N801NA, in N248 in support of NASA’s Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment, or S-MODE, mission.

Dan Weishaar, crew chief for the Ames Aircraft Management Office, prepares to deploy NASA's Beechcraft B-200 Super King Air, N801NA, from N248 in support of NASA’s Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment, or S-MODE, mission.

A flight crew prepares for the B200 King Air Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. From left to right are Jeroen Molemaker and Scott “Jelly” Howe.

Flight crews at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, flew the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) installed in the B200 King Air on May 3, 2021.

A flight crew prepares for the B200 King Air Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. From left to right are Scott "Jelly" Howe, Jeroen Molemaker and Delphine Hypolite.

During the pilot campaign for NASA's Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) in 2021, on the transit from Oregon to the experiment site off the coast of San Francisco, large waves (some reaching around 23 feet or 7 meters tall) rolled over the deck of the research vessel Oceanus, damaging several autonomous wave gliders seen here. Scientists from across the country then assembled to repair the instruments in San Francisco harbor. Wave gliders are one type of autonomous marine research platform deployed at sea during S-MODE's field campaigns in the Pacific Ocean. The uncrewed vessels feature a set of fins – on a submersible platform tethered to a surface float – which it uses to propel the craft around the upper ocean. The platforms carry a variety of sensors and instruments. Because they're autonomous, their use reduces the risk posed to human researchers who could be exposed to large storms at sea. S-MODE is a NASA Earth mission to use newly developed in-situ and remote-sensing techniques to look at small-scale ocean whirlpools, eddies, and currents. The observations could help scientists better understand how these dynamics drive the give-and-take of material and energy between the ocean and atmosphere and, ultimately, help shape Earth's climate. More information about S-MODE is at https://espo.nasa.gov/s-mode/content/S-MODE https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25522

As part of NASA's Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) field campaign, several Saildrones like the one pictured here were launched from San Francisco Bay. The Saildrones were part of a fleet of autonomous marine research vessels designed to measure a vast array of factors such as ocean currents, wind speed and direction, air and water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll content. S-MODE is a NASA Earth mission to use newly developed in-situ and remote-sensing techniques to look at small-scale ocean whirlpools, eddies, and currents. The observations could help scientists better understand how these dynamics drive the give-and-take of material and energy between the ocean and atmosphere and, ultimately, help shape Earth's climate. More information about S-MODE is at https://espo.nasa.gov/s-mode/content/S-MODE https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25523

As part of NASA's Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) pilot campaign in 2021, the research vessel Oceanus, owned by the National Science Foundation, set sail to an area 110 nautical miles off the coast of San Francisco, accompanied by a fleet of several types of autonomous marine research vessels. The wave gliders pictured here on the dock carry a variety of sensors and instruments. Because they're autonomous, their use reduces the risk posed to human researchers who could be exposed to large storms at sea. S-MODE is a NASA Earth mission to use newly developed in-situ and remote-sensing techniques to look at small-scale ocean whirlpools, eddies, and currents. The observations could help scientists better understand how these dynamics drive the give-and-take of material and energy between the ocean and atmosphere and, ultimately, help shape Earth's climate. More information about S-MODE is at https://espo.nasa.gov/s-mode/content/S-MODE https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25524