NASA: Aquarius Mission Web Site

[25-Mar-13] Authored by Scott K. Johnson, "How salty is that seawater? Ask the Aquarius satellite" has been published on Ars Technica, a website for technologists and IT professionals. The story also includes information on the NASA Salinity Processes in the Upper ocean Regional Study (SPURS) experiment.

[07-Feb-13] With a grain of salt -- Ocean surface layer captures influence of human activity. Full article available here.

[27-Feb-13] NASA's Aquarius Sees Salty Shifts The colorful images chronicle the seasonal stirrings of our salty world: Pulses of freshwater gush from the Amazon River’s mouth; an invisible seam divides the salty Arabian Sea from the fresher waters of the Bay of Bengal; a large patch of freshwater appears in the eastern tropical Pacific in the winter. These and other changes in ocean salinity patterns are revealed by the first full year of surface salinity data captured by NASA’s Aquarius instrument. Spanish Version (Word, 152KB) | Narrated Tour (YouTube) | Narrated Tour Transcription

[18-Jan-13] NASA's Aquarius Mission Provides New Ocean View by Gary Lagerloef, Simon Yueh and Jeffrey Piepmeier, was published in the January 2013 issue of Sea Technology magazine.

[08-Nov-12] Ocean Salinity Trends Show Human Fingerprint Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego report that changes in ocean salinity over the second half of the 20th century are consistent with the influence of human activities and inconsistent with natural climate variations.

[19-Jun-12] Aquarius PI Gary Lagerloef's article "Satellite Mission Monitors Ocean Surface Salinity" is featured in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union (Volume 93, Number 25). Understanding links between ocean circulation, the global water cycle, and climate variations requires knowledge of ocean surface salinity. NASA's Aquarius satellite mission, which began science operations last December, monitors the global open ocean surface salinity field. The mission is expected to yield a new mean global salinity map at higher spatial resolution than existing conventional data, provide new information on El Niño and other interannual climate variations, and improve scientists' knowledge of the marine freshwater budget. Aquarius salinity data is also expected to contribute to improved global coupled climate models and climate prediction. The full article is available to subscribers at http://www.agu.org/journals/eo/v093/i025/.

[13-Jun-12] Aquarius Maps the Salinity Structure of a Climate-Influencing Type of Wave in the Pacific Ocean.

[11-Jun-12] NASA feature story: NASA's Ocean Salinity Pathfinder Celebrates its First Year in Orbit. It's been a busy first year in space for Aquarius, NASA's pioneering instrument to measure ocean surface salinity from orbit.

[Spring 2012] NASA's "Ask" Magazine has an article about the development of the satellite from the perspective of Luis Genovese, Project Manager for the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory. Learn more here.

[27-Apr-12] The New York Times mentions Aquarius in a story about research on the links between global warming and intensification of the water cycle. A new Science journal article by Durack et al. reports that the water cycle has accelerated by about 4 percent over the last half century. This finding may indicate a higher potential for extreme weather in the coming decades. Aquarius science team member, Raymond W. Schmitt, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution said "The amplification pattern that he sees is really quite dramatic" in an interview with the New York Times.

[09-Dec-11] NASA's Aquarius Detects Possible Effects of Tropical Storm Lee in Gulf

[31-Oct-11] United States and Argentina sign a Space Cooperation Agreement.

News Articles:

Click image to enlarge

[22-Sep-11] Aquarius has produced its first map of global ocean salinity. The map is a composite of the first two and a half weeks of data since the instrument became operational on August 25. Yellow and red colors represent areas of higher salinity, with blues and purples indicating areas of lower salinity. [Learn more]

[01-Sep-11] PASADENA, Calif. – NASA's Aquarius instrument has successfully completed its commissioning phase and is now "tasting" the saltiness of Earth's ocean surface, making measurements from its perch in near-polar orbit. [more]

[10-Jun-11] Aquarius/SAC-D Post-Launch News Conference

[07-Jun-11] Prelaunch News Conference & Science Briefing.

[06-Jun-11] Watch NASA TV on the Web.

[06-Jun-11] NASA JPL Tweetup.

[02-Jun-11] New NASA Salt Mapper to Spice Up Climate Forecasts Salt is essential to human life. Most people don't know, however, that salt - in a form nearly the same as the simple table variety - is just as essential to Earth's ocean, serving as a critical driver of key ocean processes. While ancient Greek soothsayers believed they could foretell the future by reading the patterns in sprinkled salt, today's scientists have learned that they can indeed harness this invaluable mineral to foresee the future - of Earth's climate. MORE >>

[25-May-11] For Aquarius, Sampling Seas No 'Grain of Salt' Task The breakthrough moment for oceanographer Gary Lagerloef, the principal investigator for NASA's new Aquarius mission, came in 1991. That's when he knew it would be possible to make precise measurements of ocean salinity from space. It has taken nearly two decades to turn that possibility into a reality. MORE >>

[20-May-11] L-30 Briefing.

[18-Apr-11] Scientists Hope Aquarius Will Crack Ocean Salinity Code SAN FRANCISCO — Oceans cover more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface, yet salinity, one of the key variables that influence ocean circulation, remains poorly understood. NASA officials hope to help remedy that situation with the scheduled June 9 launch of the joint U.S.-Argentine Aquarius sea surface salinity mission. MORE >>

[17-May-11] The Aquarius_SAC-D Science Writers Guide is now available.

[17-May-11] Final preparations are under way for the June 9 launch of the international Aquarius/SAC-D observatory. The mission's primary instrument, Aquarius, will study interactions between ocean circulation, the water cycle and climate by measuring ocean surface salinity. MORE >>

[17-May-11] Aquarius/SAC-D Launch PRESS KIT is now available.

[13-May-11] NASA Announces News Briefing on Aquarius/Sac-D Mission PASADENA, Calif. – NASA will hold a news briefing on Tuesday, May 17, at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT), on the agency's next Earth-observing satellite mission, Aquarius/SAC-D, scheduled to launch on June 9. MORE >>

[05-Apr-11] NASA's Aquarius: The Water Bearer Flies Soon With more than a few stamps on its passport, NASA's Aquarius instrument on the Argentinian Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas (SAC)-D spacecraft will soon embark on its space mission to "taste" Earth's salty ocean MORE >>

Artist's concept of the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft

[31-Mar-11] NASA Instrument Will Measure Ocean Surface Salinity PASADENA, Calif. – An international spacecraft that will take NASA's first space-based measurements of ocean surface salinity has arrived at its launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Aquarius/SAC-D mission will provide scientists with a key missing variable in satellite observations of Earth that links ocean circulation, the global balance of freshwater and climate. Click here for the full version of this story.

[28-Mar-11] After nine months of successful space environmental testing, the Argentine EO satellite Aquarius/SAC-D is ready to start the launch campaign.

[14-Dec-10] AGU 2010 Fall Meeting - Press Conference
The launching of two new spacecraft in 2011 should expand our understanding of Earth's climate. Glory, a NASA mission set to launch no earlier than February, will study the roles of two critical elements of Earth's climate system: the sun's total solar irradiance and atmospheric airborne particles called aerosols. Both solar irradiance and aerosols have significant direct and indirect effects on Earth's climate, and the two instruments on Glory will provide new insights into these complex processes. Then in June, NASA and the Space Agency of Argentina, Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE), will jointly launch the Aquarius/Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas (SAC)-D mission to make space-based measurements of how the concentration of dissolved salt varies across Earth's ocean surface. This information will offer new insights into ocean circulation, the global water cycle and climate.

[10-Dec-10] The new Multimedia Gallery page for Aquarius was released today. This resource has links to high-resolution animations and images featuring the Aquarius/SAC-D Spacecraft, Salinity, Water Cycle, Ocean Circulation and Climate, along with other pertinent documents.

[01-Nov-10] The new Aquarius/SAC-D Mission lithograph summarizes science objectives, the water cycle, ocean circulation and climate, and the society benefits of Aquarius measurements [640 KB PDF]. Download a copy now!

[10-Aug-10] The 6th Aquarius/SAC-D Science Meeting was held in Seattle, WA, USA, 19-21 July 2010. The oral presentations and poster materials are available online. Aquarius/SAC-D science objectives address ocean circulation, the global hydrological cycle, climate variability, land processes, land use, soil moisture, natural hazards, health applications, cryosphere, and others. The satellite observatory will provide measurements of ocean salinity (the primary measurement goal of the mission) plus ocean winds, rain, sea ice, sea and land surface temperatures, soil moisture, high temperature events (fires and volcanic activities), nighttime light sources, atmospheric temperature/humidity soundings, space environment and autonomous data relay from remote ground stations. This meeting focused on the science team's preparations for the upcoming launch, including the in-orbit checkout, data processing, calibration, validation and near-term data analysis, as well as near-term science applications.

[22-Apr-10] The 6th Aquarius/SAC-D Science Meeting will take place 19-21 July 2010, in Seattle, Washington, USA. (Announcement)

Agenda: This meeting will emphasize the Aquarius/SAC-D science team activities and preparations for the upcoming launch, including the in-orbit checkout, data processing, calibration, validation and near-term data analysis, as well as near-term science applications. The meeting is open to the broader scientific community.

The program will include a reception at the Seattle Aquarium on Tuesday evening, 20 July.

Oral and Poster Presentations: The agenda will be tightly organized with invited oral presentations and contributed posters. More details about the agenda and oral presentations will be provided in the coming weeks.

Location of the Meeting: Bell Harbor Conference Center.

Conference Website: http://depts.washington.edu/uwconf/aquarius/ provides conference registration, preliminary agenda, abstract submission, venue, lodging and transportation information. Please register and book your lodging early.

Registration and Abstracts: There is no registration fee. However advance registration and abstract submissions are required via the conference website. Deadline for abstracts and registration: June 30, 2010.

[21-Apr-10] Ocean Salinities Show an Intensified Water Cycle. Evidence that the world's water cycle has already intensified is contained in new research to be published in the American Journal of Climate. The stronger water cycle means arid regions have become drier and high rainfall regions wetter as atmospheric temperature increases.

[03-Mar-10] Salt-Seeking Satellite Shaken By Quake, But Not Stirred

[01-Oct-09] International Science Teams Selected for Aquarius/SAC-D Mission

[20-Apr-09] With a Pinch of Salt

[13-Nov-07] NASA Sees Arctic Ocean Circulation Do an About-Face

[06-Feb-07] Satellites and Sea Lions: Working Together to Improve Ocean Models

[05-Jul-06] NASA Satellites Find Balance in South America's Water Cycle

[20-Mar-06] Scientists Use Satellites to Help Detect Deep-Ocean Whirlpools

[06-Jan-04] NASA'S New Studies Of Earth's Seas, Skies and Soils

[10-Jul-02] NASA Selects GSFC-Led Mission to Study the Role of Salinity in Ocean Circulation and Climate