Oceans

TOPEX / Poseidon (ocean TOPography EXperiment)

NASA Analysis Sees Spike in 2023 Global Sea Level Due to El Niño

A long-term sea level dataset shows ocean surface heights continuing to rise at faster and faster rates over decades of observations. Global average sea level rose by about 0.3 inches (0.76 centimeters) from 2022 to 2023, a relatively large jump due mostly to a warming climate and the development of a strong El Niño. The […]

Posted March 21, 2024

SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)

Earth

Extreme Weather Events

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Oceans

Water on Earth

SWOT Satellite Catches Coastal Flooding During California Storms

Operated by NASA and the French space agency, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission provides a new view of water on land, at the coast, and in the ocean. A series of atmospheric rivers drenched California in February, with record amounts of rainfall and hurricane-force winds sweeping across parts of the state. At one […]

Posted March 5, 2024

PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment)

Climate Change

Cryosphere

Earth

Ice & Glaciers

Oceans

Meet NASA’s Twin Spacecraft Headed to the Ends of the Earth

Launching in spring 2024, the two small satellites of the agency’s PREFIRE mission will fill in missing data from Earth’s polar regions. Two new miniature NASA satellites will start crisscrossing Earth’s atmosphere in a few months, detecting heat lost to space.

Posted February 12, 2024

Earth

Earth Science

Earth's Atmosphere

Oceans

NASA’s PACE To Investigate Oceans, Atmospheres in Changing Climate

Earth’s oceans and atmosphere are changing as the planet warms. Some ocean waters become greener as more microscopic organisms bloom. In the atmosphere, dust storms born on one continent affect the air quality of another, while smoke from massive wildfires can blanket entire regions for days.

Posted January 11, 2024

Climate Change

Carbon Cycle

Earth

Greenhouse Gases

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Oceans

As the Arctic Warms, Its Waters Are Emitting Carbon

Runoff from one of North America’s largest rivers is driving intense carbon dioxide emissions in the Arctic Ocean. When it comes to influencing climate change, the world’s smallest ocean punches above its weight. It’s been estimated that the cold waters of the Arctic absorb as much as 180 million metric tons of carbon per year […]

Posted December 21, 2023

Earth

Missions

Oceans

PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem)

NASA invita a medios al lanzamiento de misión para estudiar océanos y nubes

Read this release in English here. Ya está abierta la acreditación para los medios de comunicación para el próximo lanzamiento de la misión científica de observación de la Tierra PACE (acrónimo inglés para Plancton, Aerosoles, Nubes y Ecosistemas Oceánicos) de la NASA. La NASA y SpaceX planean poner en órbita PACE no antes del martes 6 […]

Posted December 11, 2023

Earth

Missions

Oceans

PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem)

NASA Invites Media to Launch of New Mission to Study Oceans, Clouds

Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí. Media accreditation is open for the upcoming launch of NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud ocean Ecosystem) Earth observing science mission. NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Tuesday, Feb. 6, for a Falcon 9 rocket to launch PACE to orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape […]

Posted December 11, 2023

People of Goddard

Carbon Cycle

Earth

Earth Science

Goddard Space Flight Center

Oceans

Peter Griffith: Diving Into Carbon Cycle Science

Dr. Peter Griffith serves as the director of NASA’s Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Griffith's scientific journey began by swimming in lakes as a child, then to scuba diving with the Smithsonian Institution, and now he studies Earth’s changing climate with NASA.

Posted November 8, 2023

SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)

Earth

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Oceans

Water on Earth

NASA Analysis Finds Strong El Niño Could Bring Extra Floods This Winter

Such high-tide flooding that inundates roads and buildings along the west coast of the Americas tends to be uncommon outside of El Niño years, but that could change by the 2030s. An analysis by NASA’s sea level change science team finds that if a strong El Niño develops this winter, cities along the western coasts […]

Posted November 8, 2023

SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)

Climate Change

Earth

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Oceans

Water on Earth

See SWOT Mission’s Unprecedented View of Global Sea Levels

Data on sea surface heights around the world from the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission yields a mesmerizing view of the planet’s ocean. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite is sending down tantalizing views of Earth’s water, including a global composite of sea surface heights.

Posted October 30, 2023