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Abstract. Oceanic time series have been instrumental in providing an understanding ofbiological, physical, and chemical dynamics in the oceans and how theseprocesses change over time. However, the extrapolation of these results tolarger oceanographic regions requires an understanding and characterizationof local versus regional drivers of variability. Here we use high-frequencyspatial and temporal glider data to quantify variability at the coastal SanPedro Ocean Time-series (SPOT) site in the San Pedro Channel (SPC) andprovide insight into the underlying oceanographic dynamics for the site. Thedataset could be described by a combination of four water column profiletypes that typified active upwelling, a surface bloom, warm-stratifiedlow-nutrient conditions, and a subsurface chlorophyll maximum. On weeklytimescales, the SPOT station was on average representative of 64 % ofprofiles taken within the SPC. In general, shifts in water column profilecharacteristics at SPOT were also observed across the entire channel. Onaverage, waters across the SPC were most similar to offshore profiles,suggesting that SPOT time series data would be more impacted by regionalchanges in circulation than local coastal events. These results indicate thathigh-resolution in situ glider deployments can be used to quantify majormodes of variability and provide context for interpreting time series data,allowing for broader application of these datasets and greater integrationinto modeling efforts.