{ "id": 5619, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5619/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "SWOT River Volume Variations (rivers only)", "description": "No description available.", "release_date": "2026-03-04T11:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2026-03-18T13:21:20.751171-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1202240, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005619/SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_small.png", "filename": "SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_small.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 }, "main_video": { "id": 1202235, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005619/SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_720p30.mp4", "filename": "SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_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": "Cedric David", "employer": "Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)" }, { "name": "Arnaud Cerbelaud", "employer": "Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)" } ] }, "progress": "Complete", "media_groups": [ { "id": 379782, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5619/#media_group_379782", "widget": "Basic text", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "This is a visualization of changes in volume of the rivers of the world over the course of a year. The data show monthly river volumes anomalies. River volume is the total amount of water flowing through a channel per unit of time (e.g., cubic meters/second). River volume anomalies are just the difference in river volume from the normal river volume at each location. In this visualization, white represents lower than normal volume, cyan is normal volume, and blue is higher than normal volume. In the visualization, the river thicknesses are scaled for river volumes that are higher or lower than normal. The land data are monthly, showing the seasons as the land colors change and snow advances and retreats. This shows the strong correlation between river flows and the seasons.\r\n\r\nThe river volume data are monthly and span one year from October 2023 through September 2024. The data are interpolated to loop seamlessly. The volume data are separated into reaches, which are short sections of rivers and streams, typically around 10 kilometers in length. The reach data are mapped onto the higher resolution SWORD river database which has very high-resolution river paths.\r\n\r\nYouTube link:[https://youtu.be/4pxkcaC2n5A](https://youtu.be/4pxkcaC2n5A){target=_blank}\r\nPaper link: [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10218-y](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10218-y){target=_blank}\r\nNASA story link: [https://www.nasa.gov/earth/us-french-satellite-takes-stock-of-worlds-river-water/](https://www.nasa.gov/earth/us-french-satellite-takes-stock-of-worlds-river-water/){target=_blank}\r\nJPL story link: [https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/us-french-satellite-takes-stock-of-worlds-river-water/](https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/us-french-satellite-takes-stock-of-worlds-river-water/){target=_blank}\r\n\r\nThere is another version of this visualization that includes the land and zooms into several different rivers.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 379781, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5619/#media_group_379781", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Visualization of world rivers without land background, but with date and colorbar overlay.", "items": [ { "id": 511162, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1202235, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005619/SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_720p30.mp4", "filename": "SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_720p30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 511338, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1202270, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005619/SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_1080p30.mp4", "filename": "SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_1080p30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 511163, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1202236, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005619/SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_2160p60.mp4", "filename": "SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_2160p60.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "", "width": 3840, "height": 2160, "pixels": 8294400 } }, { "id": 511164, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1202300, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005619/frames/3840x2160_16x9_60p/withOverlay/", "filename": "withOverlay", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "", "width": 3840, "height": 2160, "pixels": 8294400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 379804, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5619/#media_group_379804", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "This is the same visualization as above without the date and colorbar overlay.", "items": [ { "id": 518293, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1202298, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005619/SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_noOverlay_720p30.mp4", "filename": "SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_noOverlay_720p30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 518294, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1202270, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005619/SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_1080p30.mp4", "filename": "SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_1080p30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 518295, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1202299, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005619/SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_noOverlay_2160p60.mp4", "filename": "SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL03_darkEarth_noOverlay_2160p60.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "", "width": 3840, "height": 2160, "pixels": 8294400 } }, { "id": 518301, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1202301, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005619/frames/3840x2160_16x9_60p/withoutOverlay/", "filename": "withoutOverlay", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "", "width": 3840, "height": 2160, "pixels": 8294400 } } ], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "svs", "funding_sources": [], "credits": [ { "role": "Data visualizer", "people": [ { "name": "Greg Shirah", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" } ] }, { "role": "Scientist", "people": [ { "name": "Cedric David", "employer": "Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)" }, { "name": "Arnaud Cerbelaud", "employer": "Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)" } ] }, { "role": "Producer", "people": [ { "name": "Andrew Wang", "employer": "Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)" } ] } ], "missions": [ "Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT)" ], "series": [], "tapes": [], "papers": [], "datasets": [ { "name": "SWOT River Volume dataset monthly volume anomalies in each region", "common_name": "", "platform": "Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT)", "sensor": null, "type": "Observed Data", "organizations": [], "description": "", "credit": "", "url": "https://zenodo.org/records/17945109", "date_range": "" }, { "name": "SWOT River Database", "common_name": "SWORD", "platform": "Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT)", "sensor": null, "type": "Data Compilation", "organizations": [], "description": "", "credit": "", "url": "", "date_range": "" }, { "name": "Blue Marble: Next Generation", "common_name": "BMNG", "platform": "Terra and Aqua", "sensor": "MODIS", "type": "Other", "organizations": [], "description": "", "credit": "The Blue Marble data is courtesy of Reto Stockli (NASA/GSFC).", "url": "http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/BlueMarble/", "date_range": "" }, { "name": "ETOPO-30", "common_name": "", "platform": null, "sensor": null, "type": "Model", "organizations": [], "description": "NOAA Earth TOPOgraphy global relief model 30 arc-second resolution (ETOPO-30): The ETOPO Global Relief Model integrates topography, bathymetry, and shoreline data from regional and global datasets to enable comprehensive, high resolution renderings of geophysical characteristics of the earth’s surface. The model is designed to support tsunami forecasting, modeling, and warning, as well as ocean circulation modeling and Earth visualization.", "credit": "", "url": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/etopo-global-relief-model", "date_range": "" } ], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Earth" ], "keywords": [ "Rivers/Streams" ], "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 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [ { "id": 5618, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5618/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "SWOT River Volume Variations", "description": "SWOT River Volume Variations", "release_date": "2026-03-04T11:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2026-03-18T13:20:51.181708-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1202218, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005618/SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL02_comp_1280x720.00000.png", "filename": "SWOT_rivers_v_anom_FINAL02_comp_1280x720.00000.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This is an image of the Earth with river volume anomaly data showing North and South America.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } } ] }