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A single satellite (Geosat) provided 0.5-degree resolution data from 1986 to 1990, while numerous international satellite missions (ERS-1, TOPEX/Poseidon, ERS-2, Jason-1, Envisat, and Jason-2) have provided 0.25-degree resolution data from 1992 until now. These measurements and their continuity are important for monitoring large-scale features such as Rossby and Kelvin waves, the evolution of El Niño and La Niña events, and variation of global sea level in relation to climate change. SWOT (with 0.05-degree-resolution) will offer an unprecedented combination of spatial and temporal resolution while continuing and extending the ocean altimeter data record for years to come. || ", "release_date": "2014-05-13T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-11-14T00:26:01.665261-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 430425, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a030000/a030500/a030500/altimetry_PODAAC_1978_2022_1700_print.jpg", "filename": "altimetry_PODAAC_1978_2022_1700_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Visualization shows improved altimeter data resolution from 1978 to 2022.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 }, "main_video": { "id": 430432, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a030000/a030500/a030500/altimetry_PODAAAC_1978_2022_HD.mp4", "filename": "altimetry_PODAAAC_1978_2022_HD.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Visualization shows improved altimeter data resolution from 1978 to 2022.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 }, "progress": "Complete", "media_groups": [ { "id": 341218, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30500/#media_group_341218", "widget": "Basic text with HTML", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Launched in 1978, Seasat was the first NASA Earth-orbiting satellite mission designed to observe the world’s ocean. 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