Skip Navigation
menu close modal
Resources

Hydrology Data Products from the SWOT Mission

Source: NASA/JPL/PO.DAAC
Published: March 13, 2025

Dr. Tamlin Pavelsky, NASA’s Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Hydrology Science Lead, gives an overview of SWOT hydrology data products. Specifically, the Pixel Cloud (L2_HR_PIXC) netCDF, River (L2_HR_RiverSP) and Lake (L2_HR_LakeSP) Single Pass Vector shapefiles, and the Raster (L2_HR_Raster) netCDF products are discussed.

PREVIEW

Related

Earth is our home. The SWOT mission will give us a better understanding of our world’s oceans and terrestrial surface waters while showing us why these resources are so important.
More
A public talk streamed with Dr. Cedric David talking about SWOT.
SWOT: Looking at Earth's Water (Live Public Talk)
Source: To become operational in orbit, SWOT will need to deploy components that were stored for the launch and orbit insertion process. After the solar panels have been extended, the booms and ant...
More
An artist's rendition showing how the instrument on SWOT will deploy.
SWOT Interferometer Deployment
The deployment of SWOT's solar panels is featured in this animation.
More
The deployment of SWOT's solar panels is featured in this animation.
Solar Panel Deployment
SWOT will include a Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) that will send and receive radar pulses to antennas mounted on booms attached to the spacecraft.
More
This animation shows the various stages of boom deployment for the interferometer antennas.
Deployment of Interferometer Antennas
The SWOT satellite is set to survey the height, area and changes in volume over time in lakes with a surface area of 6 hectares (15 acres) or more (i.e., an outline of 250 m by 250 m or 820 ft by 8...
More
Video of SWOT - The Lake Surveyor
SWOT - The Lake Surveyor
Meet some of the scientists and engineers contributing to a new Earth science mission, led by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES). The Surface Water and Ocean...
More
A teaser trailer going over an introduction to several of the engineers and scientists behind the building of SWOT
Mission Makers: The Team Behind the SWOT Water-Tracking Mission (Teaser Trailer)
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite deployed its solar arrays while in Earth orbit.
More
A sped-up video showing the deployment of SWOT's solar panel array.
SWOT Deploys Solar Arrays
The water cycle is how atmosphere, land and ocean processes interact with each other.
More
Video of Altimetry and the Water Cycle
Altimetry and the Water Cycle
Cedric David is part of the science team behind the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, a mission led by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spa...
More
An interview and feature on Cedric David and his part in the SWOT mission.
Mission Makers: Cedric David, Scientist on the SWOT Water-Tracking Mission
A short demonstration of internal waves using a tank filled with mineral oil and water.
More
Video of Internal Wave Tank Demonstration
Internal Wave Tank Demonstration
Christine Gebara is part of the team building the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, a mission led by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spati...
More
An interview with Christine Gebara on her part in the SWOT mission.
Mission Makers: Christine Gebara, Engineer on the SWOT Water-Tracking Mission
This animation features the fully deployed SWOT satellite over Earth.
More
This animation features the fully deployed SWOT satellite over Earth.
SWOT Global Coverage
The ocean is responsible for Earth's mild climate and makes life on Earth possible for all creatures. As global ocean temperatures increase, the ocean water expands causing sea level rise which can...
More
Video of Planet Earth: The Water Planet
Planet Earth: The Water Planet
River Discharge from the SWOT Mission: Dr. Hind Oubanas, CNES’s Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Hydrology Science Lead, gives an overview of SWOT river discharge data products and algorit...
More
Dr. Hind Oubanas, CNES’s Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Hydrology Science Lead, gives an overview of SWOT river discharge data products and algorithm development.
River Discharge from the SWOT Mission
The SWOT satellite's research instruments and components packaged and ready for transport to Thales Alenia Space near Cannes, France. Traveling from March Air Force Base in Riverside County, Califo...
More
A time-lapse video showing the process of loading the SWOT scientific payload onto the plane that would take it to France.
The SWOT satellite packaged and ready for transport to Thales Alenia Space near Cannes, France.
This visualization shows the progression of improved data resolution from satellite altimeters in the past, present, and future.
More
This visualization shows the progression of improved data resolution from satellite altimeters in the past, present, and future
Altimetry: Past, Present and Future
Using the vehicle of multi-media entertainment and a real-life scenario, Dr. Faisal Hossain, a member of the SWOT Science Definition Team, and a Fulbright Scholar has experimented with an alternati...
More
Video of Dr. Faisal Hossain
Rising Tide
This video shows a snapshot of ocean turbulence in the North Atlantic Ocean from January through March of 2012.
More
Video of NASA Simulation Shows Ocean Turbulence in the North Atlantic
NASA Simulation Shows Ocean Turbulence in the North Atlantic
A presentation on SWOT by Dr. Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, Director of the NASA Sea Level Change Team and the Ocean Physics program. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will be NASA...
More
A recording of a science talk given by Dr. Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer.
Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Science Talk
Measuring Water from Space: Tamlin Pavelsky, SWOT’s Hydrology Science Lead and Professor at UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, explains how SWOT data is being validated from North Carolina to New ...
More
A video of SWOT's Hydrology science lead explaining how SWOT data is being validated.
Measuring Water from Space
This video gallery produced by CNES highlights some of the first images from the SWOT mission, from sea ice extent to coastal sea height to river and lake measurements around the globe.
More
A video reel showing animations of SWOT and photos of the first data and images from the satellite.
CNES - First SWOT Images Video Gallery
This visualization shows ocean surface currents around the world during the period from June 2005 through December 2007.
More
This visualization shows ocean surface currents around the world during the period from June 2005 through December 2007
Perpetual Ocean
Coastal areas are subjected to erosion from waves breaking on shore and storms. Satellite altimetry from the Jason series can provide information on sea level rise, which can be used in planning be...
More
Video of Altimetry and the Coasts
Altimetry and the Coasts
To become operational in orbit, SWOT will need to deploy components that were stored for the launch and orbit insertion process. First, the solar panels will deploy to power the spacecraft. This an...
More
An animation or how SWOT's solar panels will deploy once in orbit.
SWOT Solar Panel Deployment
Earth’s 370 quintillion gallons of water can be found all over the planet in lakes, rivers, glaciers, oceans, and groundwater. However, only a tiny fraction of this water is usable by humans. Under...
More
An animated video teaching about Earth's water budget.
Earth's Water Budget