Oceans of Climate Change

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...

TOPEX/Poseidon Instruments

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

SSH and SST - Pacific Ocean

On the left is Sea Surface Height Anomalies (SSHA) relative to the sea level mean (1993-2018). On the right is Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) with the sea level trend as the straight line. The data a...

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

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...

Sea Surface Height 01/2006-04/2010

OSTM/Jason-2 - Data/ground track animation

SSH and SST - Indian Ocean

QuickTime VR of TOPEX/Poseidon

It’s not only water processes that play a role in global sea level rise – ground movements can play a significant role as well.

Global sea level rise is accelerating incrementally over time rather than increasing at a steady rate, as previously thought, according to a new study based on 25 years of NASA and European satelli...

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

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

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

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

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...

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...

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Launch footage

NASA and its partners announced the renaming of the mission, previously known as Sentinel-6A/Jason-CS.

Growing up in landlocked Zimbabwe, NASA JPL engineer Shailen Desai was far from the ocean but still experienced its effects on the climate. Now, he is contributing to an international effort to tra...

Watching Our Oceans

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).

El Niño/La Niña - (12/1996 - 01/2000)