Tornado Alley (PROG)

[BOREALIS]

Climate Change

From the unique vantage point in space, NASA collects critical long-term observations of our changing planet.

The Ocean and Climate Change

Our ocean is changing. With 70 percent of the planet covered in water, the seas are important drivers of the global climate. Yet increasing greenhouse gases from human activities are altering the ocean before our eyes. NASA and its partners are on a mission to find out more.

The ocean is warming

Rising greenhouse gas concentrations not only warm the air, but the ocean, too. Research shows that around 90 percent of the excess heat from global warming is being absorbed by the ocean. Ocean heat has steadily risen since measurements began in 1955, breaking records in 2023. All this added heat has led to more frequent and intense marine heat waves.

The image visualizes sea surface temperature anomalies in August 2023. Warm colors (red, orange) show where the ocean was warmer than normal. Cool colors (blues) show where temperatures were cooler. The red swath in the Eastern Pacific was due to an El Niño event. El Niño is a climate phenomenon in the tropical Pacific that results in warmer than normal sea surface temperatures leading to weather impacts across the planet.
Credit: NASA

Sea levels are rising

Global sea levels have risen more than 4 inches (101 millimeters) since measurements began in 1992, increasing coastal flooding in some places. As ocean water warms, it expands and takes up more space. The added heat in the air and ocean is also melting ice sheets and glaciers, which adds freshwater to the ocean and further raises sea levels. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, launched in 2022, and Sentinel 6 Michael Freilich, launched in 2020, are providing unparalleled views of sea level rise on top of decades of data from other missions.

The video shows a 21-day average of sea surface height anomalies highlighting ocean eddies and currents as imaged by the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite. The red and orange colors indicate where the sea surface was higher than normal and the blues are where it was lower than normal.
Credit: NASA

Explore Earth's Vital Signs
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/sea-level/?intent=121

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https://science.nasa.gov/earth/explore/the-ocean-and-climate-change/