A new map of the ocean floor has been created using data from NASA’s Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, providing a more accurate picture of the seafloor than ever before. The map is crucial for various activities such as navigation, laying underwater communications cables, and understanding deep-sea currents and tides.
The SWOT satellite measures the height of water on nearly all of Earth’s surface, including oceans, lakes, reservoirs, and rivers. Researchers use these differences in height to create a topographic map of the surface of fresh- and seawater. This data can be used for tasks such as assessing changes in sea ice or tracking how floods progress down a river.
The researchers relied on the fact that geologic features like seamounts and abyssal hills have more mass than their surroundings, exerting a slightly stronger gravitational pull that creates small, measurable bumps in the sea surface above them. The satellite’s sensitivity allows it to pick up these minute differences with centimeter-level accuracy, revealing seafloor features such as underwater mountains.
The improved view from SWOT also gives researchers more insight into the geologic history of the planet. Abyssal hills form in parallel bands and can reveal how tectonic plates have moved over time. The researchers are now focusing on refining their picture of the ocean floor by calculating the depth of these features, complementing an effort to map the entire seafloor using ship-based sonar.
The SWOT satellite is a collaborative project between NASA and the French space agency CNES, with contributions from other international partners. The improved map of the ocean floor will contribute significantly to various economic activities and scientific understanding of the world’s oceans.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/swot/next-generation-water-satellite-maps-seafloor-from-space