21, 2023, SWOT measured sea level in a part of the Gulf Stream off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia. Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechĪs seen in these early images, on Jan. Purple, yellow, green, and dark blue shades represent different land elevations, while the surrounding ocean is a lighter blue. This visualization shows water features on New York’s Long Island – shown as bright pink splotches. SWOT’s measurements of freshwater bodies and the ocean will provide insights into how the ocean influences climate change and the water cycle how a warming world affects water storage in lakes, rivers, and reservoirs and how communities can better manage their water resources and prepare for floods and other disasters. The satellite will measure the elevation of nearly all the water on Earth’s surface and provide one of the most comprehensive surveys yet of our planet’s surface water. SWOT is also capturing views of freshwater features such as lakes, rivers, and other water bodies down to about 300 feet (100 meters) wide. The international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission – led by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) – has sent back some of its first glimpses of water on the planet’s surface, showing ocean currents like the Gulf Stream in unprecedented detail. Latest International Water Satellite Packs an Engineering Punchĥ Things to Know About How SWOT Will Look at the World's Water Watch the Latest Water Satellite Unfold Itself in Space The Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission offers the first taste of the detailed perspectives of Earth’s surface water that its cutting-edge instruments will be able to capture.

Doppler radar underground