NASA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology
Skip Navigation
Ocean Surface Topography from Space
Stay Connected
menu
close modal
Resources
Watching Our Oceans
Published:
May 20, 2008
Watching Our Oceans
ENLARGE
Related
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.
Rising Waters on the West Coast
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.
Rising Waters: High Tide Flooding
Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Launch footage
Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Launch Footage
Launching aboard the joint U.S.-European Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is NASA’s next instrument that will help improve weather forecasting.
Using GPS to Improve Weather Forecasts
To provide scientists with essential information about global and regional changes in the seas, NASA will launch the Jason-3 satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Jason-3: Studying the Earth's Oceans from Space
Our World: How High is the Ocean?
Our World: How High is the Ocean?
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.
Melting Ice, Rising Seas
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...
Sentinel-6B: Extending the Legacy
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.
El Niño: 1997 vs. 2015
Fathoming the forces that determine global sea levels can be daunting. We present a guide to the basics of ocean surface topography.
Earth Science Basics: What Determines the Level of the Sea?
For NASA JPL engineer Parag Vaze, studying Earth’s rising ocean has been a career three decades in the making.
NASA Engineer Observes Sea Level Rise from Space for 30 Years
A look at how NASA is dealing with the threat of sea level rise to its coastal infrastructure.
Rising Waters: Sea Level & NASA Infrastructure
SSH and SST - Pacific Ocean
SSH and SST - Pacific Ocean
Greenland and Antarctica are home to most of the world's glacial ice – including its only two ice sheets – making them areas of particular interest to scientists.
Rising Waters: Out-of-Balance Ice Sheets
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...
NASA Engineer Helps Track the Global Impacts of Rising Seas
Jason-3 Animation
Jason-3 Animation
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 ...
New U.S.-European Satellite Tracking Sea Level Rise
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,...
Argo Floats : How do we measure the ocean?
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...
Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Media Reel
OSTM/Jason-2 - All instruments plus data animation
OSTM/Jason-2 - All instruments plus data animation
Ice covers 10 percent of Earth's surface and helps moderate the planet's temperature.
Frozen Earth
Sea Surface Height - Global Average from 1993 - 2011.
Sea Surface Height 1993 - 2011
OSTM/Jason-2 - Data/ground track animation
OSTM/Jason-2 - Data/ground track animation
TOPEX/Poseidon Instruments
TOPEX/Poseidon Instruments
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
NASA and SpaceX Launch U.S.-European Mission to Monitor World's Ocean (Recap)