{ "id": 5519, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5519/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Vertical Gravity Gradient", "description": "No description available.", "release_date": "2025-03-18T17:05:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-04-10T10:54:10.616799-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1153710, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005500/a005519/preview.jpg", "filename": "preview.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 }, "main_video": { "id": 1153507, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005500/a005519/swot_vertical_gravity_gradient.08_720p30.mp4", "filename": "swot_vertical_gravity_gradient.08_720p30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 }, "main_credits": { "Visualizations by": [ { "name": "Greg Shirah", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" } ], "Scientific consulting by": [ { "name": "David Sandwell", "employer": "Scripps Institution for Oceanography, UCSD" }, { "name": "Yao Yu", "employer": "UCSD" } ] }, "progress": "Complete", "media_groups": [ { "id": 377677, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5519/#media_group_377677", "widget": "Basic text", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Launched in December 2022, SWOT uses state-of-the-art phase-coherent interferometry to measure two-dimensional sea surface heights with high precision. Using 1 year of SWOT ocean data, we derive a global gravity field approaching a spatial resolution of 8 km, revealing more details than 30 years of satellite nadir altimetry. In this vertical gravity gradient map, individual abyssal hills, some spanning 200 to 300 kilometers, are now visible across ocean basins, along with thousands of small seamounts and previously hidden tectonic structures buried underneath sediments and ice. With the mission still ongoing, SWOT promises critical insights for bathymetric charting, tectonic plate reconstruction, underwater navigation, and deep ocean mixing.\r\n\r\nAbyssal hills (in the Southern Indian Ocean of this visualization) are the most common landform on the ocean floor, rising a few hundred meters above the abyssal plain. Formed by normal faulting along mid-ocean ridge axes, these gently undulating hills were previously difficult to resolve at a global scale. The SWOT gravity map now reveals individual abyssal hills, enabling studies of plate reconstructions and the impact of rough topography on ocean mixing.\r\n\r\nSeamounts (west of Central America in this visualization) are undersea volcanoes formed by magmatic intrusions through the oceanic crust. They shape ocean circulation, influence nutrient distribution, and serve as biodiversity hotspots. SWOT’s high-resolution mapping is expected to uncover approximately 50,000 previously unknown seamounts around 1 km in height, significantly enhancing our understanding of seafloor geomorphology. \r\n\r\nSWOT offers unprecedented clarity at continental margins, particularly in high-latitude regions, revealing tectonic features buried beneath sediments and ice. For instance, it captures submarine canyons transporting sediments from land to the deep sea along the South American continental shelf, as well as ancient spreading ridges concealed beneath ice in the Weddell Sea.\r\n\r\nSee also: [Earth Observatory Story](https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/154078/seamounts-and-abyssal-hills-mapped-from-space)\r\n\r\nHere's a link to the video on youtube: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5GJ4trliE4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5GJ4trliE4)", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 377648, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5519/#media_group_377648", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Visualization of the flight path of the Gulfstream III with data curtain", "items": [ { "id": 462264, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1153426, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005500/a005519/swot_vertical_gravity_gradient.08_2160p60.mp4", "filename": "swot_vertical_gravity_gradient.08_2160p60.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "", "width": 3840, "height": 2160, "pixels": 8294400 } }, { "id": 462352, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1153506, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005500/a005519/swot_vertical_gravity_gradient.08_1080p30.mp4", "filename": "swot_vertical_gravity_gradient.08_1080p30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 462353, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1153507, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005500/a005519/swot_vertical_gravity_gradient.08_720p30.mp4", "filename": "swot_vertical_gravity_gradient.08_720p30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 462354, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1153508, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005500/a005519/swot_vertical_gravity_gradient.08_360p30.mp4", "filename": "swot_vertical_gravity_gradient.08_360p30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "", "width": 640, "height": 360, "pixels": 230400 } }, { "id": 462356, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1153509, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005500/a005519/frames/3840x2160_16x9_60p/", "filename": "3840x2160_16x9_60p", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "", "width": 3840, "height": 2160, "pixels": 8294400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 377689, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5519/#media_group_377689", "widget": "Globe Viewer", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "", "items": [ { "id": 462392, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1153543, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005500/a005519/swot_vertical_gravity_gradient_FLAT.08b.01000.png", "filename": "swot_vertical_gravity_gradient_FLAT.08b.01000.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "", "width": 8192, "height": 4096, "pixels": 33554432 } } ], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "svs", "funding_sources": [ "Earth Science Enterprise" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Visualizer", "people": [ { "name": "Greg Shirah", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" } ] }, { "role": "Scientist", "people": [ { "name": "David Sandwell", "employer": "Scripps Institution for Oceanography, UCSD" }, { "name": "Yao Yu", "employer": "UCSD" } ] }, { "role": "Communications specialist", "people": [ { "name": "Jane Lee", "employer": "NASA/JPL" } ] } ], "missions": [], "series": [], "tapes": [], "papers": [], "datasets": [ { "name": "vertical gravity gradient", "common_name": "", "platform": "Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT)", "sensor": null, "type": "Analysis", "organizations": [], "description": "", "credit": "", "url": "", "date_range": "" } ], "nasa_science_categories": [], "keywords": [], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 14990, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14990/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "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", "main_image": { "id": 1202601, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014990/20260305_SVS14990_SWOT_RIVERS_DATA_VIS_3840x2160_60fps_ENGLISH_FINALCUT_GAW.00001_searchweb.png", "filename": "20260305_SVS14990_SWOT_RIVERS_DATA_VIS_3840x2160_60fps_ENGLISH_FINALCUT_GAW.00001_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "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", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 5538, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5538/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Exploring High-Resolution Sea Surface Height Data from NASA’s SWOT Satellite", "description": "Exploring High-Resolution Sea Surface Height Data from NASA’s SWOT Satellite", "release_date": "2025-05-15T13:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-05-23T16:24:30.083102-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1155205, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005500/a005538/SWOT_ssha_still_HD.05820.jpg", "filename": "SWOT_ssha_still_HD.05820.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This visualization reveals ocean surface phenomena captured by NASA's SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite. Beginning with a global perspective of conventional sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) data, the animation then showcases SWOT's orbital path and ground swath coverage (displayed in orange). As the view transitions to select regions of interest, SWOT's high-resolution SSHA measurements unveil detail impossible with previous satellite technology. The visualization clearly distinguishes ocean surface waves, internal solitary waves, and submesoscale eddies—critical features for understanding ocean dynamics and energy transfer. The color gradient ranges from dark blue (representing lower surface heights) to white (indicating higher surface heights), allowing viewers to immediately grasp the three-dimensional nature of these ocean phenomena.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }