Our World: How High is the Ocean?

Sea Surface Height - Global Average from 1993 - 2011.

Earth’s global sea levels are rising – and are doing so at an accelerating rate.

Decades of Discovery - How altimeters help us every day.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying the Jason-3 spacecraft. Liftoff was at 10:42 a.m. PST (1:42 p.m. EST).

Jason-3 Animation

NASA Climate Watcher Waves Goodbye

Karl and Seymour learn how carbon dioxide is formed in this sketch from The Lollygaggers, a global warming sketch comedy.

Fathoming the forces that determine global sea levels can be daunting. We present a guide to the basics of ocean surface topography.

On Aug. 26, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. PT, NASA hosted a media teleconference to discuss recent insights on sea level rise and the continuing challenge of predicting how fast and how much sea level will ris...

Sea Level Isn't Level - Why it matters

In many communities in the U.S., sea level rise is already a factor in people’s lives in the form of high-tide flooding.

The Jason-3 satellite, launched on January 17, 2016, is allowing scientists to continue a 23-year record of crucial ocean monitoring.

QuickTime VR of TOPEX/Poseidon

SSH and SST - Global

Watch the Jason-3 Mission Briefing from Friday, Jan 15, 2016 - panelists gave an overview of the Jason-3 mission.

The ocean-observing Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Nov. 21, 2020 at 12:17 p.m. EST

For over 20 years NASA has been tracking the global surface topography of the ocean in order to understand the important role it plays in our daily lives. Climate change is causing our Ocean to war...

TOPEX/Poseidon Launch

B-roll for media. The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is an Earth-observing satellite that will collect data on sea level and how it changes over time. By measuring sea surface height, scientists world...

For NASA scientist Severine Fournier, studying our planet knows no borders.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will join a long-standing family of Earth observing satellites from NASA and European partners.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Launch footage

Experts from NASA, ESA, EUMETSAT, and NOAA discuss the upcoming launch of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich in a recorded live broadcast

The Argo stop-motion animation aims to inspire children (and adults) to engage with marine science. It is quirky, fun and informative at the same time. The animation explains what an Argo float is,...

Sea level rise is an indicator that our planet is warming. When ice on land, such as mountain glaciers or the ice sheets of Greenland or Antarctica, melts, that water contributes to sea level rise.