Water on Earth

CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite)

NASA’s CloudSat Ends Mission Peering Into the Heart of Clouds

Over the course of nearly two decades, its powerful radar provided never-before-seen details of clouds and helped advance global weather and climate predictions. CloudSat, a NASA mission that peered into hurricanes, tallied global snowfall rates, and achieved other weather and climate firsts, has ended its operations.

Posted April 23, 2024

Earth

Ames Research Center

Benefits Back on Earth

Climate Change

Landsat 8 / LDCM (Landsat Data Continuity Mission)

Landsat 9

Water on Earth

NASA Open Science Initiative Expands OpenET Across Amazon Basin

The research teams who help sustain the largest freshwater reserve in the world are developing a new tool to promote more resilient farming systems in Brazil. The goal is to help farmers better handle changes in the water cycle, deal with droughts, and adapt to a changing climate. The Large-Scale Hydrology Research Group hosted at […]

Posted April 16, 2024

SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)

Earth

Earth Science

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Water on Earth

SWOT Satellite Helps Gauge the Depth of Death Valley’s Temporary Lake

Data from the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission helped researchers to calculate the depth of water in this transient freshwater body. California’s Death Valley, the driest place in North America, has hosted an ephemeral lake since late 2023.

Posted April 15, 2024

Oceans

Climate Change

Earth

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Water on Earth

How NASA Spotted El Niño Changing the Saltiness of Coastal Waters

New findings have revealed a coastal realm highly sensitive to changes in runoff and rainfall on land. After helping stoke record heat in 2023 and drenching major swaths of the United States this winter, the current El Niño is losing steam this spring. Scientists have observed another way that the climate phenomenon can leave its […]

Posted April 3, 2024

Water on Earth

Earth

GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment)

GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on)

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

US, Germany Partnering on Mission to Track Earth’s Water Movement

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-Continuity mission will extend a decades-long record of following shifting water masses using gravity measurements.

Posted March 19, 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

Earth

GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment)

GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on)

SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)

Water on Earth

Google’s ‘A Passage of Water’ Brings NASA’s Water Data to Life

As part of the long-standing partnership, NASA worked with Google Arts & Culture to create an interactive digital experience around global freshwater.

Posted November 30, 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

Earth

International Space Station (ISS)

Water on Earth

Rusty Red Waters in Madagascar

Iron-rich sediment colors the red-orange waters of the Betsiboka River Delta in Madagascar in this image taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station on Sept. 30, 2023. The sediment can clog waterways in the delta’s estuarial environment, but it can also form new islands that become colonized by mangroves. Despite its rusty color, […]

Posted October 30, 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