NASA has launched a satellite, will monitor sea level rise

Michael Freilich’s Sentinel-6 satellite was successfully launched on Saturday, November 21, 2020. It will continue NASA’s nearly 30 years of documenting sea-level rise and provide scientists with the most accurate view of the coast they’ve ever had. from space.

It is a joint American-European project. The satellite, the size of a smaller pickup truck, was launched into orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the 4E space launch complex at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

The satellite is the first of a pair of satellites that will extend NASA and European Space Agency research for another ten years. The second satellite, Sentinel-6B, will follow in about five years. To measure sea levels, satellites will send electromagnetic signals to the oceans and then measure how long it takes to bounce to the bottom.

It sounds funny today, but in the 1990s, when NASA began working on measurements, scientists just assumed that climate change was affecting ocean levels.

“The Earth is changing and this satellite will help us deepen our understanding of how to do it”, said Karen St. Germain, Director of NASA’s Division of Earth Sciences. “The processes of change on Earth are affecting sea level globally, but the impact on local communities is very different. International cooperation is important in understanding these changes and informing coastal communities around the world.”

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Thanks to the new satellite, scientists will be able to make high-resolution observations, which will allow for more accurate weather forecasts and early warnings of the devastating effects of storms. Before the storm, a bubble forms on the surface that the satellite can capture and send an alert.

Granular measurements would be used to determine how changes in sea level near the coast can affect shipping and commercial fishing.

Sentinel-6 is named in honor of Michael Freilich, former director of Earth Science. He was a leading figure in the advancement of ocean observations from space. Freilich passed away on August 5, 2020. His relatives and close friends witnessed the launch of a satellite with his name on it.

sourceNASA