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last mo.

NASA's SWOT Satellite Redefines Ocean Floor Mapping with Unprecedented Detail

The satellite, initially designed to measure water height, has doubled the resolution of previous maps and revealed 100,000 underwater features, advancing global seafloor mapping efforts.

Image
Credit: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program
Taken from the International Space Station by an astronaut, this is a view of Lake Van off Turkey, the largest soda lake on Earth. This region is prone to major earthquakes because of movement from the Eurasian and Arabian tectonic plates.

Overview

  • The SWOT satellite, launched in 2022 by NASA and CNES, uses advanced radar technology to map the ocean floor by detecting subtle changes in sea surface height caused by gravitational differences.
  • SWOT has doubled the resolution of previous satellite maps, achieving a 5-mile resolution and identifying up to 100,000 seamounts, compared to 44,000 previously known.
  • Abyssal hills, now recognized as Earth's most common landform, cover 70% of the ocean floor and were revealed in unprecedented detail by SWOT data.
  • The maps support practical applications such as safer submarine navigation, improved underwater cable installation, and enhanced studies of tectonic activity and ocean currents.
  • SWOT's data collection, covering 90% of Earth's surface every 21 days, is accelerating efforts to complete a comprehensive ocean floor map by 2030.