TOPEX/Poseidon Instruments

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

Earth’s rising seas are some of the most visible signs of our warming planet. Over the last 23 years, NASA satellite missions have observed a steady rise in global sea levels as polar ice sheets me...

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.

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...

Jason-1 Spacecraft Animation

SSH and SST - Indian Ocean

El Niño/La Niña - (12/1996 - 01/2000)

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

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

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...

TOPEX/Poseidon Ground Tracks

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

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

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

Our planet is changing. Our ocean is rising. And it affects us all. That’s why a new international satellite will continue the decades-long watch over our global ocean and help us better understand...

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

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.

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

Our World: How High is the Ocean?

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Launch footage

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...

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).

Oceans of Climate Change

NASA and its partners announced the renaming of the mission, previously known as Sentinel-6A/Jason-CS.