SWOT Satellite

The NASA has unveiled a new, highly detailed map of the ocean floor, created using data collected from space, marking a major step toward mapping the entire seabed by the end of this decade.

The map has been developed using data from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, a joint mission between NASA and the French space agency CNES. Launched in December 2022, the satellite orbits the Earth and is capable of scanning nearly 90% of the planet every 21 days.

Unlike conventional methods, SWOT does not directly image the ocean floor. Instead, it measures minute variations in the height of water across oceans, lakes, and rivers. These variations are influenced by gravitational forces—large underwater features such as mountains and hills exert a stronger gravitational pull, causing slight bulges in the water above them.

This advanced technique enables far greater precision than earlier satellites, which could detect only large seafloor features such as seamounts taller than one kilometre. SWOT, however, can identify features less than half that size, significantly enhancing seabed mapping.

Scientists estimate that the number of known seamounts could increase from around 44,000 to nearly 100,000 as a result of this improved capability.

Source: IE