Oceans of Climate Change

Here we provide side by side comparisons of Pacific Ocean sea surface height (SSH) anomalies of what is presently happening in 2015 with the Pacific Ocean signal during the famous 1997 El Niño.

The Jason-2 satellite sees something brewing in the Pacific. Researchers say it could be a significant El Niño with implications for global weather and climate.

The ocean is responsible for Earth's mild climate and makes life on Earth possible for all creatures.

NASA Climate Watcher Waves Goodbye

Watch the Jason-3 Science Briefing from Friday, Jan 15, 2016 - panelists discussed the science and research of the Jason-3 mission.

SSH and SST - Global

Our planet is changing. Our ocean is rising. And it affects us all. That’s why a new international satellite will continue the decades-long watch over our global ocean and help us better understand...

Recorded live launch broadcast of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich

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.

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...

A look at how NASA is dealing with the threat of sea level rise to its coastal infrastructure.

One of the best ways to understand Earth's ocean is from the perspective of space.

QuickTime VR of TOPEX/Poseidon

This visualization shows total sea level change between 1992 and 2019, based on data collected from the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2, and Jason-3 satellites. Blue regions are where sea level ha...

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.

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

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

SSH and SST - Indian Ocean

Sea levels across the globe are rising as a result of a changing climate — and the rate at which they are rising is accelerating. NASA Science Live was recorded Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, and featured...

SSH and SST - Pacific Ocean

Sea Surface Height - Global Average from 1993 - 2011.

Changing conditions in the Pacific have stirred up Earth’s largest ocean and redistributed its heat, piling up warm waters along U.S. Western shores and raising sea level in the process.

Launching aboard the joint U.S.-European Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is NASA’s next instrument that will help improve weather forecasting.

Earth’s rising seas are some of the most visible signs of our warming planet. Over the last 23 years, NASA satellite missions have observed a steady rise in global sea levels as polar ice sheets me...

Decades of Discovery - How altimeters help us every day.