satellite data

New space mission to improve knowledge of our environment launching in 2024

Artists impression of HydroGNSS satellite in orbit. Credit: SSTL
  • An ambitious new programme co-led by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) will enable reliable and cost-effective measurements of Earth from space.
  • The mission will enable a wealth of open-access environmental data including ocean winds and sea-ice.

New project to enhance monitoring of critical coastal habitats

A new project led by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) will unlock new capability of an innovative satellite mapping technique to enable better large-scale management of intertidal zones.

World-first satellite to measure Earth’s water levels blasts into space

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft on a transport container inside the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, 18 November 2022. Photo: USSF 30th Space Wing/Chris Okula

A UK-backed mission, which will observe huge swathes of ocean and surface water in unprecedented detail, has launched into space.

The international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite took off from Vandenberg in California on 16 December.

Polar sea ice detection using reflected GNSS signals demonstrated by SSTL and NOC

Working with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) have released new datasets that demonstrate how reflections of satellite navigation signals collected in space can be used to accurately map the extent of the sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic.

NOC researchers pioneer observations of hurricane wind speeds from space with GPS

Researchers at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) have developed a technique that, for the first time, uses reflected GPS signals from satellites orbiting the Earth to measure very high wind speeds and changes in near-surface ocean conditions during hurricanes.

First global wind speed data from UK TechDemoSat-1 open new prospects for weather monitoring and forecasting

The Earth from space

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has developed the first ever global wind speed products based on reflected GPS signals, using data from the UK TechDemoSat-1 satellite.

New centre to help link satellites with robot-subs

Satellite

The NOC is to form part of the new Centres of Excellence in Satellite applications, which is expected to aid economic growth in the Solent region. As part of this new centre the NOC will develop the technologies to help robot-subs use live satellite data to inform their route through the ocean, not unlike drivers using live traffic updates.

Sea level mapped from space with GPS reflections

The GNSS-R principle (illustration by Paolo Cipollini from the NOC)

GPS signals used for ‘sat-navs’ could help improve understanding ocean currents, according to new research published in Geophysical Research Letters by National Oceanography Centre (NOC) scientists, with colleagues from the University of Michigan and Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Satellite science improves storm surge forecasting around the world

Hurricane Katrina (courtesy: NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team)

A new online resource which will help coastguards, meteorological organisations and scientific communities predict future storm surge patterns has been created, with scientists from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) playing a central role in its development.

Science from space – NOC wins international contract to analyse ocean satellite data

Sea-level detail from CryoSat (© ESA/CNES/CLS)

Scientists at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) have secured a three-year contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to carry out ‘quality control’ checks on ocean data captured by one of its satellites.

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