Global sea level, as it inches ever higher, has a new eye keeping watch on it from orbit.
On 20 June, the US and French space agencies launched the next-generation ocean topography satellite, the Ocean Surface Topography Mission, or Jason-2. The satellite will continue to monitor sea-surface height, a continuous series of measurements that began with the present Jason-1 mission.
Jason-2 is a joint venture of two US agencies (NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), France's space agency (CNES), and the European satellite agency EUMETSAT.
Jason-1 is still operating; Jason-2 will orbit beneath it during its commissioning phase.
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Latest satellite launches to monitor sea level. Nature 453, 1156 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/4531156e
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/4531156e