Lagrangian Submesoscale Experiment (LASER) aerostat drift cards, Gulf of Mexico, January 2016 - February 2017

Drift cards, in the form of 11" diameter biodegradable bamboo plates, were seeded in the field of view of the ship-tethered aerostat remote sensing system (STARSS). A high-resolution camera captured images of the patch of drift cards are regular intervals. Cards were detected in the sequence of imagery to study near-surface transport and dispersion. A GPS and inertial navigation system (INS) were also installed on STARRS. However, initialization issues with the INS resulted in inaccurate heading data for most of the drift card experiments. The GPS-INS data are also not precisely synchronized in time with the imagery. Drift card releases were carried out over multiple days in the Gulf of Mexico from 24 January 2016 to 6 February 2017 aboard the M/V Masco VIII. The imagery and raw GPS-INS data from the aerostat, as well as GPS positions from two markers on the Masco VIII, are supplied here.