Watching Our Oceans

OSTM/Jason-2 - Data/ground track animation

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

Recorded live launch broadcast of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich

After living in coastal Virginia and seeing the effects of climate change firsthand, Ben Hamlington is now researching sea level rise at NASA JPL.

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...

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

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

Recorded live broadcast of Sentinel-6B, launched at 9:21 p.m. PST, Sunday, Nov. 16 (12:21 a.m. EST, Monday, Nov. 17) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

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-CS/Sentinel-6 - How they will work

Jason-1 Spacecraft Animation

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.

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

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

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

Oceans of Climate Change

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...

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

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.

NASA Climate Watcher Waves Goodbye

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.

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.

Sea Surface Height - Global Average from 1993 - 2011.

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...