NASA Invites Media to Learn About S-MODE Mission

NASA will hold a media teleconference at 1:30 p.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 29 to share information about the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE), a campaign to study small ocean whirlpools, eddies, and currents. Understanding small-scale ocean dynamics will help scientists better understand how Earth’s oceans help slow climate change.

Audio of the call will stream live and supporting visuals will be posted to the agency’s website. Participants include:

 

• Nadya Vinogradova-Shiffer, program manager and program scientist from NASA’s Earth Science Division at agency Headquarters in Washington
• J. Tom Farrar, S-MODE principal investigator, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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Members of the media must request access to the virtual event no later than 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 29, by sending their full name, media affiliation, email address, and phone number to Elena Johnson at: [email protected] or Ellen Gray at: [email protected].

 

S-MODE employs aircraft, a research vessel, and several autonomous ocean robots. The research team aims to understand the role ocean processes play in how surface heat, nutrients, oxygen, and carbon move to deeper ocean layers. Scientists believe these types of eddies play an important role in the exchange of heat and gases between air and sea.

 

The research vessel Oceanus went to sea Oct. 19 off the coast of San Francisco, accompanied by a fleet of several types of autonomous marine research vehicles. Over a period of three weeks, NASA planes will fly overhead to collect measurements while the vessel and the autonomous vehicles sample the ocean. The participating NASA aircraft are its King Air B-200 and Twin Otter DHC6.

 

For more information on S-MODE, visit:

 

https://espo.nasa.gov/s-mode/

 

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