This image shows SWOT satellite data for water surface area height in part of Mendocino County, Northern California, on January 15, before numerous atmospheric rivers got here, and on Feb. 4, after the very first storms. Light blue and green suggest the highest water levels relative to indicate sea level. (Inland water heights include the underlying ground elevation.) Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechThe Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite offers a new view of water on land, at the coast, and in the ocean.A series of climatic rivers drenched California in February, with record amounts of rainfall and hurricane-force winds sweeping across parts of the state. At one point, weather condition agencies published flood look for nearly the whole of Californias coast. The SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) mission captured information on some of the flooding near the neighborhood of Manchester, roughly 105 miles (169 kilometers) north of San Francisco. The satellite is a cooperation between NASA and the French space agency, CNES (Centre National dÉtudes Spatiales). Satellite Observations of Water LevelsThis image reveals the area on January 15, 2024, before the rain and snow from climatic rivers, and after that again on February 4, after the very first in a series of storms soaked California. Water heights are displayed in shades of blue and green, with lighter hues showing the greatest levels relative to indicate sea level. (Data for inland locations consists of the height of the floodwaters plus the ground elevation underneath it.) Some coastal locations were flooded by both ocean tides and heavy rain, while others were most likely flooded just by precipitation. Each pixel in the image represents a location that is 330 feet by 330 feet (100 meters by 100 meters). Developed to make the first-ever worldwide study of Earths surface area water, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography, or SWOT, satellite will gather in-depth measurements of how water bodies on Earth change over time. Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechSWOTs Contribution to Water MonitoringSince December 2022, SWOT has actually been determining the height of nearly all water in the worlds surface area, establishing among the most detailed, thorough views yet of the planets ocean and freshwater lakes and rivers. Not just can the satellite spot the degree of the water in the worlds surface, as other satellites can, but SWOT can likewise supply water level data. Combined with other types of information, SWOT measurements can yield water depth data in features like rivers and lakes.”SWOT provides us details about flooding that weve never had in the past,” said Ben Hamlington, lead researcher for NASAs water level change group at the companys Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Satellites can offer pictures revealing how much of an area is flooded, however unless instruments are already set up on a river or at the coast, its tough to understand how conditions evolve throughout and after a flood. “Data from the SWOT satellite, integrated with other info, is filling out this image,” stated Hamlington.The SWOT science group made the measurements utilizing the KaRIn (Ka-band Radar Interferometer) instrument. With two antennas spread out 33 feet (10 meters) apart on a boom, KaRIn produces a set of information swaths as it circles around the world, bouncing radar pulses off water surface areas to gather surface-height measurements.NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, utilizing SWOT data offered by Benjamin Hamlington and courtesy of the SWOT science group.
Created to make the first-ever global survey of Earths surface water, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography, or SWOT, satellite will gather comprehensive measurements of how water bodies on Earth change over time. Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechSWOTs Contribution to Water MonitoringSince December 2022, SWOT has been measuring the height of nearly all water on Earths surface, developing one of the most detailed, thorough views yet of the worlds ocean and freshwater lakes and rivers. Not only can the satellite discover the degree of the water on Earths surface, as other satellites can, but SWOT can also supply water level information.