October 8, 2012
This animation illustrates sea surface height anomalies (SSHA) from 1950 to 2009. The pre TOPEX/Poseidon (1992) SSHA data are derived from a cyclo-stationary EOF tuned to the AVISO SSHA and then applied to tide gauge data.
October 4, 2012
The GRACE twin satellites, launched 17 March 2002, are making detailed measurements of Earth's gravity field and are revolutionizing investigations about Earth's water reservoirs, large-scale solid earth changes, ice cover, and oceans. To aid in the interpretation of gravity change over the oceans, the GRACE Tellus project provides ocean bottom pressure (OBP) derived from the GRACE satellites. OBP is the sum of the mass of the atmosphere and ocean in a 'cylinder' above the seafloor.
October 1, 2012
Beginning in 1978 with the first Earth orbiting ocean observing satellite, Seasat, continuing with Geosat, ERS-1,TOPEX/Poseidon, ERS-2, Jason-1, Envisat and Jason-2 missions and looking ahead to the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission scheduled to launch in 2020, the improvement of the spatial resolution in NASA and partners altimetric missions is dramatic. This animation illustrates this progression of improved data resolution. SWOT will provide sea surface height and hydrography measurements at very high spatial and temporal resolutions unlike anything that has ever been available.
August 3, 2012
Water is the fundamental ingredient for life on Earth. Looking at our Earth from space, with its vast and deep ocean, it appears as though there is an abundance of water for our use. However, only a small portion of Earth's water is accessible for our needs. How much fresh water exists and where it is stored affects us all. This animation uses Earth science data from a variety of sensors on NASA Earth observing satellites as well as cartoons to describe Earth's water cycle and the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. Sensors on a suite of NASA satellites observe and measure water on land, in the ocean and in the atmosphere.
August 3, 2012
The Ocean is essential to life on Earth. Most of Earth's water is stored in the ocean. Although 40 percent of Earth's population lives within, or near coastal regions- the ocean impacts people everywhere. Without the ocean, our planet would be uninhabitable. This animation helps to convey the importance of Earth's oceanic processes as one component of Earth's interrelated systems. This animation uses Earth science data from a variety of sensors on NASA Earth observing satellites to measure physical oceanography parameters such as ocean currents, ocean winds, sea surface height and sea surface temperature.
December 31, 2011
The Multi-Scale Ultra-High Resolution (MUR) Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Data Set combines data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua, and Advanced Microwave Spectroradiometer-EOS (AMSR-E) instruments in an optimal way to produce 1 km global maps of SST. Noticeable in the animation from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2011 are the high energy regions associated with the Western Boundary Currents of the Gulf Stream and the Kuroshio. Additionally one can see the major upwelling areas of the world's oceans associated with the California, Peruvian/Chilean and South African Coasts.
February 7, 2011
The animation illustrates the evolution of sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSH) anomalies (relative to the respective normal state, i.e., seasonal climatology) associated with the 2010-11 La Niña in the Pacific Ocean. SST and SSH anomalies reflect the heat content in the mixed layer (approximately upper 50 m) and the upper ocean (approximately upper 150 m) respectively. Warm/cold SST anomalies often are associated with high/low SSH anomalies. They provide complimentary views of the oceanic signature of climate variability such as El Niño and La Niña .
May 21, 2010
The animation illustrates the evolution of sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSH) anomalies* (relative to the respective normal state, i.e., seasonal climatology) associated with the 2009-10 El Nino in the Pacific Ocean. SST and SSH anomalies reflect the heat content in the mixed layer (approximately upper 50 m) and the upper ocean (approximately upper 150 m) respectively. They provide complimentary views of the oceanic signature of climate variability El Nino. In April 2009, initial warming appeared in the eastern equatorial Pacific and grew into a moderate warming event by the end of the year.