Watching Our Oceans

SSH and SST - Pacific Ocean

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

El Niño/La Niña - (12/1996 - 01/2000)

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

This animation illustrates the evolution of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies (relative to the respective normal state) in the Pacific Ocean associated with the 2015-2016 El Niño.

Decades of Discovery - How altimeters help us every day.

El Niño is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific. The warmer water associated with El Niño displaces colder water in the upper layer of the ocean caus...

QuickTime VR of TOPEX/Poseidon

This video discusses the water cycle, which is the movement of water around the Earth, and its importance to life. Changes to the water cycle affect climate and vice versa.

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 - Global

The joint U.S.-European Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is the next in a line of Earth-observing satellites that will collect the most accurate data yet on sea level and how it changes over time. With ...

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

For NASA engineer Shannon Statham, building spacecraft is all about being creative.

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.

NASA and its U.S. and international partners have teamed up to launch a new Earth-observing satellite called Sentinel-6B that will measure sea surface height of most of the planet’s ocean. These ob...

TOPEX/Poseidon Ground Tracks

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

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

Ice covers 10 percent of Earth's surface and helps moderate the planet's temperature.