RIOT Shakedown Sea Experiment 2026

RIOT Shakedown Sea Experiment 2026

Southern California – March 2026

P.F.J. Lermusiaux, P.J. Haley Jr., C. Mirabito Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Ocean Engineering Mechanical Engineering Cambridge, Massachusetts	Synoptic RIOT Data Synoptic Data of Opportunity Atmos. Forecasts RIOT Team Products Data sources
This research is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research

RIOT-SQUAD Project Main Page

The RIOT collaborative shakedown sea experiment occurs in the waters off Southern California around the Channel Islands during March 2026. The goals of our RIOT-SQUAD team for this shakedown are to test our data acquisition, processing, and analysis schemes, connections to RIOT activities, including the LAS5 and sea-going teams, and our ocean modeling, dynamical analyses, and planning software for real-time experiments. We thank all of the RIOT team members for their input and collaboration, and especially our LAS5 team members Jessica Garwood (OSU), Trevor Harrison (UW), Christian Sarason (UW), and Jennifer Sevadjian (Scripps).

Real-time MSEAS Data Analysis and Forecasting

Synoptic RIOT Data (MSEAS-Processed)

Synoptic Data of Opportunity (MSEAS-Processed)

Data Locations:
- Locations by type: March 1 to present
- Locations with time: March 1 to present
Argo profiles: March 1 to present
NDBC SST Buoys: March 1 to present

Satellite Data: March 1 to present

Satellite Data Description		S. Cal.	S. Cal.–Baja Cal.
SST	MetOffice/CMEMS OSTIA Analysis (daily 0.05°)	X	X
SST	GHRSST MODIS NRT	X	X
SSH	AVISO Along-Track ADT (daily 7km; filtered)	X	X
	AVISO Gridded ADT via OI (daily 0.125°)	X	X
	SWOT Swath ADT (Source: PO.DAAC) (daily 2km)	X	X
SSC	Multi-sensor CMEMS global Chla (daily 4km)	X	X

HF Radar (NOAA/IOOS HFRnet) 6km gridded velocity:

Product	Month	Day of month
Snapshots	March 2026	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31

MSEAS-processed atmospheric forcing flux forecasts:

NCEP NAM 12km: March 2026
Daily average wind stress, E-P, heat flux, and SW Radiation
	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Flux snapshot plots (1 fct issued daily)	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X

NCEP NAM 3km: March 2026
Daily average wind stress, E-P, heat flux, and SW Radiation
	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Flux snapshot plots (1 fct issued daily)	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X

Top of page

RIOT Team Products

Situational Awareness: RIOT Asset Map (from Christian Sarason)
R/V Sproul Ship Data:

Top of page

Real-time Model Analyses and Forecasts for the RIOT Region

Windy.com Surface Current Model Display

Top of page

Data sources

Initialization, BCs, and Other Ocean Model Output
- HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) Description (HYCOM Consortium)
- Operational Mercator Ocean 1/12° Model Output (Copernicus Marine Data Store)
Ocean synoptic
- ARGO float data access
- Gliders: IOOS ERDDAP/TableDAP page
- National Data Buoy Center station selection
- HF Radar:
  - NOAA HF Radar THREDDS server
  - SCCOOS HF Radar Surface Current Map and Link to Data
- SST products and data:
- Ocean historical/climatological
  - Data sets and products NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
    - World Ocean Database (WOD)
- Atmospheric forcing
  - Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model Real-Time Forecasts
  - National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) products:
    - Global Forecast System Model: version 4 (GFS), at 0.5 degree resolution (GFSp5) and also at 0.25 degree resolution (combo)
Top of page