Watching Our Oceans

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...

For NASA JPL engineer Parag Vaze, studying Earth’s rising ocean has been a career three decades in the making.

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

El Niño/La Niña - (12/1996 - 01/2000)

It's hard to "see" sea level rise by just looking at the ocean, but its effects are very real.

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

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 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 ...

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...

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

Jason-1 Spacecraft Animation

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

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.

Our World: How High is the Ocean?

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

Recorded live launch broadcast of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Launch footage

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

NASA Climate Watcher Waves Goodbye

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

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

A key ocean observation satellite has been named after Earth scientist Michael Freilich

SSH and SST - Indian Ocean

Jason-CS/Sentinel-6 - How they will work