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"title": "SWOT Satellite's Sea Level 'First Light'",
"description": "Sea Surface Height measurements in the Gulf Stream || PIA25772_print.jpg (1024x576) [97.4 KB] || PIA25772_searchweb.png (320x180) [46.9 KB] || PIA25772_thm.png (80x40) [11.2 KB] || PIA25772.tif (3840x2160) [2.7 MB] || swot-satellites-sea-level-first-light.hwshow || ",
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"description": "This visualization shows sea surface height measurements in the Gulf Stream off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia. The data was collected on Jan. 21, 2023, by an instrument on the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite called the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn). KaRIn's two antennas acquired data that was mapped as two wide, colored strips spanning a total of 75 miles (120 kilometers) across.
In the visualization, red and orange areas represent sea levels that are higher than the global average, while shades of blue represent sea levels that are lower than average. The spatial resolution of SWOT ocean measurements is 10 times greater than the composite of sea surface height data gathered over the same area by seven other satellites that same day.
KaRIn is the scientific heart of the SWOT mission. It's a radar instrument with one antenna at each end of a boom that's 33 feet (10 meters) long. This enables KaRIn to look off to either side of a center line directly below the satellite as the instrument bounces microwave signals off of Earth's surface. The returning radar signals arrive at each antenna slightly out of step, or phase, from one another. When these signals are combined with other information about the antennas and the satellite's altitude, scientists will be able to map the height of water on Earth's surface with never-before-seen clarity.
Led by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), SWOT will measure the height of water on over 90% of Earth's surface, providing a high-definition survey of our planet's water for the first time. The satellite's measurements of freshwater bodies and the ocean will provide insights into how the ocean influences climate change; how a warming world affects lakes, rivers, and reservoirs; and how communities can better prepare for disasters like floods.
Launched on Dec. 16, 2022, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California, SWOT is now in a six-month period called commissioning, calibration and validation. This is when engineers on the mission check out the satellite's systems and science instruments to ensure data accuracy before the start of science operations in July.",
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"title": "For More Information",
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"description": "See [https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25772](https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25772)",
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"title": "SWOT Mission Unlocks a New View of Our Waterways",
"description": "Explore how rivers move, change, and sustain life across the planet.Using data from the SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) mission, jointly developed by the NASA/JPL and the Centre National d'Études Spatiales with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency and the United Kingdom Space Agency, scientists can now measure rivers continuously and across the entire globe for the first time in human history.From the Mississippi River to the Amazon, these observations reveal how rivers flow, how they change over time, and how they support ecosystems, economies, and communities worldwide like never before.SWOT Mission Website || ",
"release_date": "2026-03-18T13:00:00-04:00",
"update_date": "2026-03-18T14:35:03-04:00",
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"alt_text": "SWOT Mission Unlocks a New View of Our Waterways (3840x2160, 60fps)Universal Production Music:Wander Instrumental by the Music YardSunny Morning Instrumental by Vigne WintrebertMagical Mushrooms Instrumental by DoddyBoard Game Instrumental by de Chaumont DuboisThis video can be freely shared and downloaded. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, some individual imagery provided by Tridant Sensing Inc, U.S. Forest Service, Department of War and Pond5 is obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/Complete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard Video YouTube channel",
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{
"id": 31221,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/31221/",
"page_type": "Hyperwall Visual",
"title": "SWOT Satellite's Land 'First Light'",
"description": "Water features on New York's Long Island || PIA25774_print.jpg (1024x576) [183.9 KB] || PIA25774_searchweb.png (320x180) [58.8 KB] || PIA25774_thm.png (80x40) [11.1 KB] || PIA25774.tif (1920x1080) [6.0 MB] || -swot-satellites-land-first-light.hwshow [202 bytes] || ",
"release_date": "2023-03-27T00:00:00-04:00",
"update_date": "2023-06-14T11:29:07-04:00",
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"id": 31222,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/31222/",
"page_type": "Hyperwall Visual",
"title": "Sea Level Visualization of Gulf Stream",
"description": "Sea surface height measurements of the Gulf Stream || PIA25773_print.jpg (1024x576) [90.5 KB] || PIA25773_searchweb.png (320x180) [40.1 KB] || PIA25773_thm.png (80x40) [11.6 KB] || PIA25773.tif (3840x2160) [1.8 MB] || sea-level-visualization-of-gulf-stream.hwshow [278 bytes] || ",
"release_date": "2023-03-27T00:00:00-04:00",
"update_date": "2024-10-11T00:31:11.864466-04:00",
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