Scientists plot sea levels using GPS satellites
The team used a research satellite launched last year as a GNSS-R receiver, but it will be able to tap a new constellation of receivers that NASA is launching this year as part of CYGNSS (below). That mission will make accurate measurements of surface winds using GPS satellites, but NOC scientists will be able to use them to measure ocean levels, too, yielding a thirty-fold increase in such data. By mapping small changes in sea levels, “we should be able to map currents from space by detecting even smaller variations in sea surface height,” according to NOC researcher Dr. Paolo Cipollini. That data would be valuable on many levels, making both the CYGNSS mission and GPS constellation far more useful.
