See This Space-Based View of Global Sea Levels From SWOT Data

Data collected by the U.S.-European Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite shows global sea levels from July 26 to Aug. 16, 2023. Red and orange indicate ocean heights higher than the global mean sea surface height, while blue represents heights lower than the mean.

Sea level differences can highlight ocean currents, like the Gulf Stream coming off the U.S. East Coast. The data can also indicate regions of relatively warmer water – like the eastern part of the equatorial Pacific Ocean during an El Niño – because water expands as it warms.

The SWOT mission is a collaboration between NASA and CNES, with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK Space Agency.

For more information about SWOT, go to: https://swot.jpl.nasa.gov/

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech