Sea Surface Height Anomaly, 2026
Animation of Sea Surface Height Anomaly in the Pacific for 2026
A longer animation of Sea Surface Height Anomaly in the Pacific starting January 1, 2025.
El Niño is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific. The warmer water associated with El Niño displaces colder water in the upper layer of the ocean causing an increase in sea surface height because of thermal expansion.
These visualizationa, created using a sea surface height anomaly product available from the Copernicus Marine Service shows sea surface height anomalies (SSHA) for 2026 and from January 1, 2025 through May 2026. The maps have been processed to highlight the interannual signal of SSH, i.e., the mean signal, seasonal signal, and the trend have been removed. Red and orange shades indicate high sea surface heights relative to the reference state, while blue and green shades indicate sea surface heights lower than the reference state. Neutral conditions appear yellow.
Credits
Visualization: NASA, data: E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00149 .
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Visualizer
- Marit Jentoft-Nilsen (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
Release date
This page was originally published on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
This page was last updated on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 at 4:55 PM EDT.