Exploring Oceans From Space

The joint U.S.-European Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is the next in a line of Earth-observing satellites that will collect the most accurate data yet on sea level and how it changes over time. With millimeter-scale precision, data from this mission will allow scientists to precisely measure sea surface height and gauge how quickly our oceans are rising. The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is part of the Sentinel-6/Jason-CS mission, a collaboration among NASA, ESA, EUMETSAT, and NOAA. Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California no earlier than Nov. 10, 2020. For more information on the Sentinel-6/Jason-CS mission, go to https://www.nasa.gov/subject/18859/sentinel-6michael-freilich/ Credit: NASA-JPL/Caltech/NOAA

What is said in the film

(soft music) - Spend a few minutes on any beach, and you'll realize just how much the ocean can transform the shoreline. I'm Josh Willis, project scientist for the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite, a new earth-observing satellite that will give us the ability to track and understand sea level rise like never before. We're here at NASA's jet propulsion laboratory, and we're really excited about this new satellite. It will extend the record of sea level rise another decade past the 30 years we already have, and allow us to see how sea level's not only rising, but how it's accelerating. This has huge consequences for the planet, because sea level rise is one of the most important consequences of human-caused global warming.

Sea levels are rising at a faster and faster rate every decade. We need these measurements to help us predict how quickly flooding will increase across the planet. Sentinel-6 will also bring us higher resolution measurements of sea level, which is incredibly important near the coastline, where currents are narrow and changes can be difficult to observe from space. - Currents in the ocean tilt the sea surface, making sea level high on one side and low on the other. Also, warm water stands taller than cold, so sea level measurements tell us about both ocean currents and ocean heat.

• Ocean currents affect our daily lives because the ocean has a strong impact on climate. In the west, the Pacific Ocean strongly determines droughts and rainfall, and in the east, hurricane forecasting uses satellite altimetry to help predict how much hurricanes will intensify. Ocean conditions can change quickly and forecasters need data in near real-time to predict how currents and marine weather will change across the globe. We're excited about the technical capabilities of this new satellite, and the prospect of another 10 years of sea level measurements. Be sure and watch the launch of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, later on this year.

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