NASA launches a satellite to monitor sea level rise

NASA plans to launch a satellite tomorrow that will track the effects of climate change on the world’s oceans and collect data to improve weather forecasts. The satellite will continue NASA’s 30-year work to document sea-level rise and provide scientists with a more accurate view of the coasts than they ever had from space.

“The best front seat view of the oceans is from space,” says Thomas Zurbuchen, chief of science at NASA.

The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite will be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. NASA’s live coverage of the event will begin at 8:45 a.m. PT on its website, with the launch scheduled for 9:17 am. The satellite is the first of a pair of ocean-focused satellites, which will extend NASA and the European Space Agency’s research on global sea levels for another ten years. The next satellite, Sentinel-6B, will follow in about five years. To measure sea level, they will transmit electromagnetic signals to the world’s oceans and then measure how long it takes to recover.

Image: ESA

When NASA began its work on sea level in 1990, scientists were still curious as to whether predictions about the impact of climate change were coming true, according to Zurbuchen. “The question of whether the oceans rise or not [as the planet heats up] has been solved by these satellites, it’s not a problem, “Zurbuchen says The Verge. “Just like gravity right here where I’m sitting, these oceans are rising and we have to manage what this does to our lives.”

NASA scientists will be able to make higher resolution observations much closer to the coast with the new satellites, which will allow for more accurate weather predictions just before storms land. When a big storm develops over the sea, the water bends. A satellite can detect that rising water bubble and use that information for predictions. Granular measurements could also be used to see how changes in sea level near coasts could affect vessel navigation and commercial fishing.

The tides are approaching land due to climate change. This is because water expands as it warms and because the world’s glaciers and ice sheets are melting. The invasion of water makes floods and storm surges increasingly dangerous. It is also drowning entire islands and coastal communities. This has already forced people from Louisiana to Papua New Guinea to abandon the places they have called home for generations.

“What is the question today, what is the impact [of sea level rise] and what can we do about it? “Zurbuchen says.” These are the questions that matter to my family, to my friends, to all of our families because they affect how our families can live in the future. “