SSH and SST - Indian Ocean

TOPEX/Poseidon Ground Tracks

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...

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...

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.

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.

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

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

TOPEX/Poseidon Instruments

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

The Jason-3 satellite, launched on January 17, 2016, is allowing scientists to continue a 23-year record of crucial ocean monitoring.

El Niño/La Niña - (12/1996 - 01/2000)

Recorded live launch broadcast of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich

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

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...

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

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

TOPEX/Poseidon Launch

NASA Climate Watcher Waves Goodbye

Decades of Discovery - How altimeters help us every day.

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.

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.

Watching Our Oceans

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

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