{"id":1838783,"date":"2025-04-01T15:47:03","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T19:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1838783"},"modified":"2025-04-01T16:08:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T20:08:25","slug":"seafloor-features-mapped-by-satellite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/04\/seafloor-features-mapped-by-satellite\/","title":{"rendered":"Seafloor Features Mapped by Satellite"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/a>
NASA Earth Observatory (Michala Garrison\/SWOT data)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMapping the seafloor isn\u2019t the SWOT<\/abbr> mission\u2019s primary purpose,\u201d says the JPL<\/abbr><\/a>, and yet the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT)<\/a> satellite is being used for more than measuring sea surface height<\/a>: those ocean surface topography measurements can be used to infer features on the seafloor. NASA Earth Observatory<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Because geologic features like seamounts and abyssal hills have more mass than their surroundings, they exert a slightly stronger gravitational pull that creates small, measurable bumps in the sea surface above them. These subtle gravity signatures help researchers predict the kind of seafloor feature that produced them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[…] Through repeated observations, the satellite is sensitive enough to pick up these minute differences, with centimeter-level accuracy, in sea surface height caused by the features below. David Sandwell, a geophysicist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and his colleagues used a year\u2019s worth of SWOT data to focus on seamounts, abyssal hills, and underwater continental margins, where continental crust meets oceanic crust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[…] Areas of decreased gravity (purple) are affiliated with depressions on the seafloor, while areas of increased gravity (green) indicate the locations of more massive, elevated features.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Only about a quarter of the seafloor has been mapped with traditional sonar methods, so you can see how a gap is being filled here. Next up is calculating the depth of the features being detected through this method.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMapping the seafloor isn\u2019t the SWOT mission\u2019s primary purpose,\u201d says the JPL, and yet the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite is being used for more than measuring sea surface height: those ocean surface topography measurements… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[230],"tags":[12,15,430,1637],"class_list":["post-1838783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-oceans","tag-nasa","tag-satellite","tag-seafloor","tag-swot","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":655,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/01\/seafloor-gravity-map\/","url_meta":{"origin":1838783,"position":0},"title":"Seafloor Gravity Map","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"31 January 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"The ocean floor\u00a0is\u00a0still very much\u00a0terra incognita: only 5 to 15 percent of it has been mapped via bathymetry. But using military satellite measurements of the Earth's shape and gravity field, a new map of the ocean floor has been created. \"The result of their efforts is a global data set\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Oceans"","block_context":{"text":"Oceans","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/oceans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"seafloor","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/seafloor-1024x737.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/seafloor-1024x737.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/seafloor-1024x737.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/seafloor-1024x737.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1524,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/04\/monterey-bay-area-seafloor-maps-released\/","url_meta":{"origin":1838783,"position":1},"title":"Monterey Bay Area Seafloor Maps Released","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"13 April 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"New seafloor maps of the Monterey Bay area have been released as part of the California Seafloor Mapping Program. The maps \"reveal the diverse and complex range of seafloor habitats along 130 kilometers (80 miles) of the central California coast from the Monterey Peninsula north to Pigeon Point.\" [Leventhal Map\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Oceans"","block_context":{"text":"Oceans","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/oceans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/monterey-bathymetry-150x91.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/monterey-bathymetry-150x91.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/monterey-bathymetry-150x91.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/monterey-bathymetry-150x91.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/monterey-bathymetry-150x91.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/monterey-bathymetry-150x91.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5745,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/11\/new-maps-show-greenlands-glaciers-at-risk\/","url_meta":{"origin":1838783,"position":2},"title":"New Maps Show Greenland’s Glaciers at Risk","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"8 November 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory: \"New maps of Greenland's coastal seafloor and bedrock beneath its massive ice sheet show that two to four times as many coastal glaciers are at risk of accelerated melting as previously thought.\u00a0Researchers at the University of California at Irvine (UCI), NASA and 30 other institutions have\u00a0published\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Weather and Climate"","block_context":{"text":"Weather and Climate","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/weather-and-climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/greenland-glaciers-300x254.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1819675,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2023\/11\/mapping-global-sea-levels-at-even-finer-resolution\/","url_meta":{"origin":1838783,"position":3},"title":"Mapping Global Sea Levels at Even Finer Resolution","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"2 November 2023","format":"link","excerpt":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=obIkUQtSJgk Launched in December 2022, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite measures ocean surface topography\u2014i.e., sea surface height. It recently completed its first full 21-day science orbit, which is represented in the above animated globe. The animation shows sea surface height anomalies around the world: Red and orange\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Oceans"","block_context":{"text":"Oceans","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/oceans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/obIkUQtSJgk\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1809954,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/11\/extent-of-tongan-eruption-revealed-by-new-seafloor-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":1838783,"position":4},"title":"Extent of Tongan Eruption Revealed by New Seafloor Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"20 November 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"Scientists have now mapped the seafloor around the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha\u2018apai volcano, and as a result we have learned just how massive the January 2022 eruption was. By comparing their soundings with 2017 data, they determined that at least 9.5 km3 of material was discharged. Debris was found 80 km\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disasters"","block_context":{"text":"Disasters","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/disasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai 3D bathymetry map","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/niwa-tonga-caldera-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/niwa-tonga-caldera-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/niwa-tonga-caldera-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/niwa-tonga-caldera-1024x576.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2669,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/08\/canada-maps-the-arctic-seafloor\/","url_meta":{"origin":1838783,"position":5},"title":"Canada Maps the Arctic Seafloor","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"22 August 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"CBC News reports on the Canadian Coast Guard's project to map the continental shelf under the Arctic Ocean, now in its third and final year. This is part of Canada's attempt to stake a claim to the continental shelf (and seas above it) beyond the 200-mile nautical limit, which other\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Oceans"","block_context":{"text":"Oceans","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/oceans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1838783"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1838790,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838783\/revisions\/1838790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1838783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1838783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1838783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}