{"id":188424,"date":"2025-03-20T07:37:20","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T21:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=837467"},"modified":"2025-03-20T07:37:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T21:37:20","slug":"next-generation-water-satellite-maps-seafloor-from-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=188424","title":{"rendered":"Next-Generation Water Satellite Maps Seafloor From Space"},"content":{"rendered":"
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6 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Located<\/a><\/figure>
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Located off the coast of Ecuador, Paramount seamount is among the kinds of ocean floor features that certain ocean-observing satellites like SWOT can detect by how their gravitational pull affects the sea surface.<\/div>\n
NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

More accurate maps based on data from the SWOT mission can improve underwater navigation and result in greater knowledge of how heat and life move around the world\u2019s ocean.<\/em><\/p>\n

There are better maps of the Moon\u2019s surface than of the bottom of Earth\u2019s ocean. Researchers have been working for decades to change that. As part of the ongoing effort, a NASA-supported team recently published one of the most detailed maps yet of the ocean floor, using data from the SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite, a collaboration between NASA and the French space agency CNES (Centre National d\u2019\u00c9tudes Spatiales).<\/p>\n

Ships outfitted with sonar instruments can make direct, incredibly detailed measurements of the ocean floor. But to date, only about 25% of it has been surveyed in this way. To produce a global picture of the seafloor, researchers have relied on satellite data.<\/p>\n

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