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S-MODE MASS Level 1 Lidar Point Cloud Version 1

Published by NASA/JPL/PODAAC | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Catalog Last Checked: June 25, 2026 at 01:56 PM | Dataset Last Updated: June 23, 2026
This dataset contains geolocated airborne LiDAR point cloud measurements from the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) conducted approximately 300 km offshore of San Francisco during a pilot campaign over two weeks in October 2021, and two intensive operating periods (IOPs) 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. The Modular Aerial Sensing System (MASS) is an airborne instrument package that is mounted on the DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft which flies long duration detailed surveys of the field domain during deployments. MASS includes a high resolution LiDAR, used to characterize the properties of ocean surface topography. The sensor has a maximum pulse repetition rate of 400 kHz, with a +/- 30° cross-heading raster scan rate of 200 Hz. Level 1 LiDAR point clouds are available in .laz format.

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Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel public
bureauCode 
[
  "026:00"
]
contactPoint 
{
  "fn": "Earthdata Forum",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:earthdata-support@nasa.gov"
}
description This dataset contains geolocated airborne LiDAR point cloud measurements from the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) conducted approximately 300 km offshore of San Francisco during a pilot campaign over two weeks in October 2021, and two intensive operating periods (IOPs) 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. The Modular Aerial Sensing System (MASS) is an airborne instrument package that is mounted on the DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft which flies long duration detailed surveys of the field domain during deployments. MASS includes a high resolution LiDAR, used to characterize the properties of ocean surface topography. The sensor has a maximum pulse repetition rate of 400 kHz, with a +/- 30° cross-heading raster scan rate of 200 Hz. Level 1 LiDAR point clouds are available in .laz format.
distribution 
[
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    "title": "Original Metadata",
    "format": "ISO",
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  },
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]
identifier 10.5067/SMODE-MASS1L
keyword 
[
  "earth-science-lidar-spectral-engineering"
]
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-06-23
programCode 
[
  "026:000"
]
publisher 
{
  "name": "NASA/JPL/PODAAC",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
spatial 
"["CARTESIAN", [{"NorthBoundingCoordinate": 38.1, "WestBoundingCoordinate": -125.4, "EastBoundingCoordinate": -121.5, "SouthBoundingCoordinate": 36.3}]]"
temporal 2021-10-22/2023-04-28
theme 
[
  "Earth Science"
]
title S-MODE MASS Level 1 Lidar Point Cloud Version 1

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