Spray glider observations in support of MAB-SWOT

During the first several months of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission, the satellite was in an orbit that passed over select locations twice per day (one ascending and one descending pass). One of these 'cross-overs' was located offshore of Cape Hatteras, NC where the Gulf Stream detaches from the continetal margin. In support of the calibration and validation of the SWOT measurements of sea surface topography, Spray gliders sampled within this cross-over as part of the SWOT Adopt-A-Crossover - MAB-SWOT campaign (swot-adac.org/campaigns/mab-swot/) in 2023.

Gliders primarily attempted to hold station at the center of a triangular array of CPIEs just north of the Gulf Stream. Additional plots of these data are available at gliders.whoi.edu.