New satellite to Enhance Maritime Safety,Extend Key Sea Level Record
PASADENA,calif. – A new U.S.-European satellite, Sentinel-6B, is poised to bolster marine weather forecasting and safeguard shipping routes by providing more thorough ocean surface height data. Launched to extend a critical, three-decade-long record of sea level measurements, the satellite will offer improved spatial coverage, particularly in areas not routinely monitored, delivering essential facts for accurate forecasts relied upon by mariners.
The Sentinel-6B mission, a collaborative effort between ESA, EUMETSAT, NASA, and NOAA, builds upon the success of its predecessor, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich. Together, they will maintain a continuous stream of precise sea level observations, calibrated against previous missions dating back to 1992. This continuity ensures measurements with centimeter-level accuracy that remain stable over time.
“As 1992, we have launched a series of satellites that have provided consistent sea level observations from the same orbit in space. This continuity allows each new mission to be calibrated against its predecessors, providing measurements with centimeter-level accuracy that don’t drift over time,” explained Severine Fournier, Sentinel-6B deputy project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
this long-term dataset has become the benchmark for sea level measurements from space, serving as a crucial reference point for validating data from other satellites and establishing a baseline for tracking ocean condition changes. “This kind of data can’t be easily replaced,” stated Dr. Leela Mehra, a researcher involved in the project.
Sentinel-6B’s near-real-time data will directly improve marine weather predictions, while its continued observations will extend the existing sea level record beyond 30 years. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) contributed three key science instruments to each Sentinel-6 satellite: the Advanced Microwave Radiometer, the Global Navigation Satellite System – radio Occultation, and the Laser Retroreflector Array. NASA also provides launch services, ground systems, and data processing support.
More information about the Sentinel-6/Jason-CS mission is available at: https://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/jason-cs-sentinel-6