VOOZH

URL: https://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov

⇱ Home – Ocean Surface Topography from Space

👁 slide 1 - his image of the Atlantic Ocean around Florida, the Bahamas, and Cuba was taken from the International Space Station in 2024.

NASA Analysis Shows La Niña Limited Sea Level Rise in 2025

A mild La Niña caused greater rainfall over the Amazon basin, which offset rising sea levels due to record warming of Earth’s oceans. Read More ›

👁 slide 2 - Sentinel-6B and Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich captured data on Nov. 26 of sea levels across a vast stretch of the Atlantic.

NASA, Partners Share First Data From New US-European Sea Satellite

Launched in November, Sentinel-6B will track ocean height with ultraprecision to advance marine forecasting, national security, and more. Read More ›

👁 slide 3 - The Sentinel-6B satellite lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California at 9:21 p.m. PST on Nov. 16. Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas

Sentinel-6B Lifts Off!!

Sentinel-6B will extend a decades-long legacy of global sea level measurements that help forecast weather, protect coastal communities, and more. Read More ›

👁 slide 4 - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the U.S.-European Sentinel-6B satellite launched at 9:21 p.m. PST (12:21 a.m. EST Monday, Nov. 17) from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Relive the Launch: Sentinel-6B

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the U.S.-European Sentinel-6B satellite launched at 9:21 p.m. PST (12:21 a.m. EST Monday, Nov. 17) from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Rewatch the launch! Read More ›

👁 slide 5 - New U.S.-European Sea Level Satellite Will Help Safeguard Ships at Sea

New U.S.-European Sea Level Satellite Will Help Safeguard Ships at Sea

Sea surface height data from the Sentinel-6B satellite, led by NASA and ESA, will help with the development of marine weather forecasts, alerting ships to possible dangers. Read More ›

👁 Stereographic image depicting el nino data

The latest image from NASA's Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is updated approximately every week.

Explore the El Niño 2023 Animation (updated January 23, 2024)

👁 Global Mean Sea Level Time Series

Global Mean Sea Level Time Series

Data collected from a series of satellite altimeters have measured a rise in global mean sea level (GMSL). The rate more than has doubled with more than 10 cm of total rise in the last 30 years.
👁 Along-Track Near Real-Time Data

Along-Track Near Real-Time Data

Sea Surface Height Anomaly: SWOT, Jason-3 and Sentinel-6MF Measurements from 25-Mar-2026 to 04-Apr-2026
👁 OST Science Team

OST Science Team

Updates on the latest research being completed by the team of international and interdisciplinary scientists.

Climate

Climate

Operational

Operational

Coastal

Coastal

Climate

Operational

Coastal

Data from Sentinel-6B will continue a decades-long record of sea surface height, helping to improve coastal planning, protect critical infrastructure, and advance weather forecasts.

👁 Sentinel-6B will continue a decades-long data record of sea level measurement that will help decision-makers manage coastal flooding, support hurricane intensity forecasts, and assist in the return of astronauts from space.

6 Things to Know From NASA About New US, European Sea Satellite

Set to track sea levels across more than 90% of Earth’s ocean, the mission must first get into orbit. Here’s what to expect.

👁 Sentinel-6B will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

NASA, European Partners Set to Launch Sentinel-6B Earth Satellite

Global sea level rose faster than expected in 2024, mostly because of ocean water expanding as it warms, or thermal expansion.

👁 Communities in coastal areas such as Florida, shown in this 1992 NASA image, are vulnerable to the effects of sea level rise, including high-tide flooding. A new agency-led analysis found a higher-than-expected rate of sea level rise in 2024, which was also the hottest year on record. NASA

NASA Analysis Shows Unexpected Amount of Sea Level Rise in 2024

The mission is gathering observations with airborne sensors, a research ship, and autonomous instruments like gliders that skim the upper layers of the Pacific Ocean.

👁 Kelly Luis, a NASA postdoctoral program fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, uses a handheld instrument called the Spectral Evolution to measure water color during the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) mission.

On the Edge: NASA's Last S-MODE Mission Studies the Ocean's Surface

A long-term sea level dataset shows ocean surface heights continuing to rise at faster and faster rates over decades of observations.

👁 Sea level rise is affecting coastal communities around the world, especially those like Honolulu, pictured, that are located on islands

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

Observations from space show that the rate of sea level rise is increasing. Knowing where and how much rise is happening can help coastal planners prepare for future hazards.

👁 atellite data from 30 years of observations is helping researchers tease apart natural and human-caused drivers of sea level rise.

NASA Uses 30-Year Satellite Record to Track and Project Rising Seas

The upcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission will provide a trove of data on Earth’s water resources, even in remote locations. Alaska serves as a case study.

👁 Water Mission to Gauge Alaskan Rivers on Front Lines of Climate Change

Water Mission to Gauge Alaskan Rivers on Front Lines of Climate Change

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, the newest addition to a long line of ocean-monitoring satellites, becomes the reference satellite for sea level measurements.

👁 International Sea Level Satellite Takes Over From Predecessor

International Sea Level Satellite Takes Over From Predecessor

Only from space can we observe the height of our vast ocean on a global scale and monitor critical changes in ocean currents and heat storage. Continuous data from satellites like TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, OSTM/Jason-2, and Jason-3 help us understand and foresee the effects of the changing oceans on our climate and on catastrophic climate events such as El Niño and La Niña.

Partners

In an environment of constrained resources, U.S. and international partnerships are necessary to gain as much understanding of our planet as possible. Not only do they do they reduce costs for NASA, they also engage a larger group of scientists with a wider variety of specialties and interests.