The recent megaquake that struck off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula has been captured in striking detail by NASA’s SWOT satellite. Launched jointly with the French space agency CNES, the SWOT satellite is equipped with a unique radar system that can measure ocean topography and water levels across vast areas.

On July 30, at around 11:25 a.m. local time, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Kamchatka, generating a massive tsunami wave. The SWOT satellite captured the leading edge of this tsunami just 70 minutes after the quake hit. This remarkable footage has provided scientists with crucial data to improve tsunami forecast models.

The data collected by the SWOT satellite included measurements of the wave height exceeding 1.5 feet (45 centimeters), as well as a detailed look at the shape and direction of travel of the leading edge of the tsunami. These observations have been plotted against a forecast model produced by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Center for Tsunami Research.

Comparing these observations to the model helps forecasters validate their predictions, ensuring that they can provide accurate early warnings to coastal communities in the event of a tsunami. As Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, NASA Earth lead and SWOT program scientist at NASA Headquarters, explained, “The power of SWOT’s broad, paintbrush-like strokes over the ocean is in providing crucial real-world validation, unlocking new physics, and marking a leap towards more accurate early warnings and safer futures.”

Ben Hamlington, an oceanographer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, highlighted the significance of the 1.5-foot-tall wave captured by SWOT, saying that what might seem like a small wave in open waters can become a massive 30-foot wave in shallower coastal areas.

The data collected by the SWOT satellite has already helped scientists improve their tsunami forecast models at NOAA’s Center for Tsunami Research. This is a crucial step towards enhancing operational tsunami forecasts and saving lives. As Josh Willis, a JPL oceanographer, noted, “The satellite observations help researchers to better reverse engineer the cause of a tsunami, and in this case, they also showed us that NOAA’s tsunami forecast was right on the money.”

This breakthrough has significant implications for coastal communities around the world. By providing more accurate early warnings, SWOT data can save lives and reduce damage caused by tsunamis. As Vasily Titov, the center’s chief scientist in Seattle, emphasized, “It suggests SWOT data could significantly enhance operational tsunami forecasts — a capability sought since the 2004 Sumatra event.” The devastating tsunami generated by that quake killed thousands of people and caused widespread destruction in Indonesia.

The SWOT satellite was jointly developed by NASA and CNES, with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK Space Agency. NASA JPL leads the U.S. component of the project, providing a Ka-band radar interferometer instrument, a GPS science receiver, a laser retroreflector, a two-beam microwave radiometer, and NASA instrument operations.

This groundbreaking technology has opened up new possibilities for scientists to better understand ocean dynamics and improve tsunami forecasting models. As SWOT continues to capture stunning images of our oceans, it will undoubtedly play a vital role in enhancing operational tsunami forecasts and saving lives around the world.

The United States is no stranger to bone-chilling winter cold, despite a warming climate. A recent study has shed light on why this phenomenon persists, pointing to two specific patterns in the polar vortex – a swirling mass of cold air high in the stratosphere. These variations can steer extreme cold to different regions of the country, often contradicting broader warming trends.

Researchers from an international team, including Prof. Chaim Garfinkel (Hebrew University), Dr. Laurie Agel and Prof. Mathew Barlow (University of Massachusetts), Prof. Judah Cohen (MIT and Atmospheric and Environmental Research AER), Karl Pfeiffer (Atmospheric and Environmental Research Hampton), and Prof. Jennifer Francis (Woodwell Climate Research Center), have published their findings in Science Advances.

The study reveals that since 2015, the Northwest US has experienced more of these cold outbreaks due to a shift in stratospheric behavior tied to broader climate cycles. In contrast, other regions may experience milder winters. Understanding this relationship can improve long-range forecasting, allowing cities, power grids, and agriculture to better prepare for winter extremes – even as the climate warms overall.

“It’s not just about warming everywhere all the time,” explained the researchers. “Climate change also means more complex and sometimes counterintuitive shifts in where extreme weather shows up.”

The work was funded by a US NSF-BSF grant by Chaim Garfinkel of HUJI and Judah Cohen of AER&MIT, highlighting the importance of international collaboration in addressing global climate challenges.

The study published in Science Advances by NASA scientists has revealed a significant correlation between the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field and fluctuations in atmospheric oxygen levels over the past 540 million years. This groundbreaking research suggests that processes deep within the Earth’s core might be influencing habitability on the planet’s surface.

At the heart of this phenomenon lies the Earth’s magnetic field, which is generated by the flow of molten material in the planet’s interior. Like a giant electromagnet, this process creates a dynamic field that has been fluctuating over time. The authors of the study point out that the role of magnetic fields in preserving the atmosphere is still an area of active research.

To uncover the hidden link between the Earth’s core and life-sustaining oxygen, scientists have analyzed magnetized minerals that record the history of the magnetic field. These minerals, formed when hot materials rise with magma at gaps between tectonic plates, retain a record of the surrounding magnetic field as long as they are not reheated too severely. By studying these ancient rocks and minerals, researchers can deduce historic oxygen levels based on their chemical contents.

The databases compiled by geophysicists and geochemists have provided valuable information on both the Earth’s magnetic field and oxygen levels over comparable ranges. Until now, no scientists had made a detailed comparison of the records. The findings of this study suggest that the two datasets are remarkably similar, with the planetary magnetic field following similar rising and falling patterns as oxygen in the atmosphere for nearly half a billion years.

The implications of this discovery are profound, suggesting that complex life on Earth might be connected to the interior processes of the planet. Coauthor Weijia Kuang said, “Earth is the only known planet that supports complex life. The correlations we’ve found could help us understand how life evolves and how it’s connected to the interior processes of the planet.”

Further research aims to examine longer datasets to see if the correlation extends farther back in time. The study also plans to investigate the historic abundance of other chemicals essential for life, such as nitrogen. As for the specific causes linking the Earth’s deep interior to life on the surface, scientist Kopparapu said, “There’s more work to be done to figure that out.”