Siberian Lakes

The logo for the Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) Mission.

Arctic Lakes

A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (1 of 4).

Floodplain Channel in the Amazon

Artist's impression of the future SWOT satellite making sea surface height observations, even through clouds.

Emblem for the SWOT mission.

SWOT is being jointly developed by NASA and Centre National D’Études Spatiales (CNES).

This collaborative mission poster, designed by CNES (French Space Agency), shows the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite soaring over an abstract of a water molecule.

An artist’s concept of the SWOT spacecraft (March 2012).

This animation shows estimates of average sea ice freeboard — or the amount of ice above the waterline — taken over a 21-day period from Aug. 8, 2023, to Jan. 14, 2024, by the Surface Water and Oce...

Disappearing lakes in Barrow, Alaska.

Pictured are team members who helped load the hardware for the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite's research instruments onto a C-17 airplane pose for a picture. The payload left M...

Visiting Scout uses a color-coded, calibrated stick to determine "sea surface topography" within a wooden box while his sister records his results by placing stickers on a card.

SWOT will collect data across a 75-mile (120-kilometer) wide swath, with a gap in the center for an altimetry track. This animation shows the collection of data over the state of Florida, which is ...

SWOT's nominal coverage during its 3-year science orbit will include measurements between 78°N and 78°S collected over a period of 21 days. Maps show the coverage after 3 days (left) and the full 2...

An early rendering of the SWOT spacecraft (February 2011).

A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (2 of 4).

Amazon Fishermen

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Open House visitors are delighted to see how well their color-coded stickers match the "sea surface topography model of the Gulf of Mexico within a wooden box.

Part of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite's science instrument payload sits in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory during assembly.  

Arctic

The SWOT satellite observatory is being jointly built by NASA and Centre National D’Études Spatiales (CNES).

Engineers integrate separate parts of the SWOT satellite into one in a Thales Alenia Space clean room facility in Cannes, France.

AirSWOT is using parts of Saskatchewan as a testing ground for mapping water levels.

Lake Calado, Amazon