Sea Height Measurements

NASA, US, European Partner Satellite Returns First Sea Level Measurements

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The data in this graphic are the first sea surface height measurements from the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich (S6MF) satellite, which launched Nov. 21, 2020. They show the ocean off the southern tip of Africa, with red colors indicating higher sea level relative to blue areas, which are lower. Credits: EUMETSAT

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, a joint U.S.-European satellite built to measure global sea surface height, has sent back its first measurements of sea level. The data provide information on sea surface height, wave height, and wind speed off the southern tip of Africa.

“We’re excited for Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich to begin its critical work studying sea level and helping us understand the many aspects of our planet’s global ocean,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for science at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “I know Mike would be thrilled that the satellite bearing his name has begun operating, but he’d also be looking forward to studying the data from this important mission, as we all are.”

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Successful Ocean-Monitoring Satellite Mission Ends

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Esprit Smith, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
esprit.smith@jpl.nasa.gov

Pascale Bresson, CNES, Paris, France
pascale.bresson@cnes.fr

Raphaël Sart, CNES, Paris, France
raphael.sart@cnes.fr

John Leslie, NOAA National Environmental Satellite and Information Service, Silver Spring, Md.
john.leslie@noaa.gov

Neil Fletcher. EUMETSAT, Darmstadt, Germany
neil.fletcher@eumetsat.int

 

JASON2-2-16
Jason-2/OSTM contributed to a long-term record of global sea levels. This image shows areas in the Pacific Ocean where sea levels were lower (blues) or higher (reds) than normal during the first week of January 2018. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

 

The Jason-2/Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM), the third in a U.S.-European series of satellite missions designed to measure sea surface height, successfully ended its science mission on Oct. 1. NASA and its mission partners made the decision to end the mission after detecting deterioration in the spacecraft’s power system.

Jason-2/OSTM, a joint NASA mission with the French space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), launched in June 2008. The mission extended the long-term record of sea surface height measurements started by the NASA-CNES TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 missions. Jason-2/OSTM’s 11-year lifetime well exceeded its three-year design life. These measurements are being continued by its successor, Jason-3, launched in 2016.

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This entry was posted in Climate Studies, Earth Science from Space (Satellites), Earth Science Studies, global warming, Jason-1, Jason-2 Satellite, Jason-2/OSTM, Jason-3, News, NOAA, Ocean Currents, Ocean Water Rise, Sea Level Rise, Sentinel-6/Jason-CS satellites and tagged , , , , , , .