SSH and SST - Global

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...

El Niño/La Niña - (12/1996 - 01/2000)

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

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...

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.

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.

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

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

Watching Our Oceans

NASA Climate Watcher Waves Goodbye

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...

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

Watch the Jason-3 Science Briefing from Friday, Jan 15, 2016 - panelists discussed the science and research of the Jason-3 mission.

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

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

OSTM/Jason-2 - Data/ground track animation

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

OSTM/Jason-2 - All instruments plus data animation

TOPEX/Poseidon Ground Tracks

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.

Watch the Jason-3 Mission Briefing from Friday, Jan 15, 2016 - panelists gave an overview of the Jason-3 mission.

Decades of Discovery - How altimeters help us every day.

Experts from NASA, ESA, EUMETSAT, and NOAA discuss the upcoming launch of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich in a recorded live broadcast

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).