Ocean Physics at NASA

SWOT Satellite Monitors Warming Ocean off California Coast

SWOT can observe warming, such as from El Niño, closer to the coast than any previous satellite mission

July 2023 Hottest Month Since Record Started

July 2023 was hotter than any other month in the global temperature record.

This map shows global temperature anomalies for July 2023 according to the GISTEMP analysis by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Temperature anomalies reflect how July 2023 compared to the average July temperature from 1951-1980.

Making Waves in Open Science: NASA Initiatives Enable Ocean Research

NASA open science is working towards making ocean research and data more accessible, ECCO is an excellent example of this.

A satellite image of tide currents with Blue water with white swirls and green land mass. The region shown includes some of the Shantar Islands and part of Uda Bay in the western Sea of Okhotsk.

“NASA-UN Partnership Gauges Sea Level Threat to Tuvalu”

NASA & UN are partnering to prepare low-lying islands for climate change

A photo of a small island in the distance and the blue ocean in the foreground

Crews Head to the Field to Prep for SWOT

Ocean and freshwater measurements are being made to ensure SWOT’s accuracy

Freshwater bodies like this braided river in New Zealand are among those that researchers measured with water-level sensors

Sentinel-6MF Spots Early Signs of El Niño

Kelvin waves are rolling across the equatorial Pacific toward the coast of South America, a potential precursor of El Niño conditions.

Sea level data from the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite represented by colorful patches on the earth

Jump to: About | Science | Missions | Data | Partnerships | Contacts

About

The ocean plays a fundamental role in the Earth’s system. It shapes our planet’s climate and weather by absorbing, storing, and transporting large quantities of heat, water, moisture, and carbon dioxide. NASA’s Physical Oceanography (PO) program enables research that advances our understanding of the ocean’s role in climate. Our scientists utilize NASA satellite and sub-orbital data, climate models and data science to study ocean dynamics, sea level rise, hydrological cycle, and ocean interactions within the Earth system.

To join us and become a NASA scientist, apply to one of current NASA research opportunities.

Science and Research

NASA’s Physical Oceanography program directs multiple competitively-selected NASA’s Science Teams that study the physics of the oceans. Below are details about each science team.

Physical Oceanography (PO)

Sea Level Change (N-SLCT)

Ocean Surface Topography (OSTST)

Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT)

Ocean Surface Salinity (OSST)

Ocean Vector Winds (OVWST)

Sea Surface Temperature (SST)

Estimating Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO)

Missions

PO program provides scientific leadership on the following missions:

Operational

Currently taking measurements

Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT)
2022

Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer (COWVR)
2021

Salinity And Stratification at the Sea Ice Edge (SASSIE)
2021

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich/Jason-CS
November 2020

Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE)
April 2020

Jason-3
January 2016

Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP)
January 2015

Future

Upcoming missions

Sentinel-6B
2025

Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL)
2028

Non-Operational

Past missions providing data for current research

Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG)
July 2015

Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM)/Jason-2
2008-2019

QuikSCAT
1999-2018

SPURS 1&2
2012-2013 & 2016-2017

RapidScat
2014-2016

Aquarius
2011-2015

Jason-1
2001-2012

TOPEX/Poseidon
1992-2005

Seasat
1978

Access the Data

The Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC) preserves NASA's ocean and climate open data and makes these universally accessible and meaningful.

Partnerships

PO program actively engages in the following national and international partnerships that work together to sustain and enhance the Earth observing system.