The Ocean Surface Topography Science Team (OSTST) brings together international scientists to understand Earth’s oceans and their interaction within the climate system using ocean altimetry satellite observations. The primary science focus of OSTST is to demonstrate the critical role of the reference satellite sea surface height records in Earth system and climate science, provided by a series of uninterrupted and accurate satellite altimetry missions, beginning with the TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-series missions, and continuing with the Sentinel-6 series missions; Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich launched in November 2020 and Sentinel-6B and C are scheduled for launch in 2025 and 2030, respectively.
Over the past three decades, measurements of ocean surface topography from those past missions have been instrumental in a wide range of ocean and climate studies, including observing and quantifying the rise and acceleration of the global mean sea level; improving our understanding of the ocean’s large-scale circulation and variability; understanding and prediction of interannual to decadal variability; characterization of the mesoscale and submesoscale eddy field and their impact on biological productivity of marine ecosystems; improving knowledge of the marine geoid and sea floor bathymetry; barotropic and internal tides, as well as supporting operational forecasts of regional currents, hurricane intensity, and marine wind and wave conditions. Many of those discoveries were made possible by the efforts of the current and previous OSTST members over the past decades. To learn more about OSTST members and latest discoveries, please visit https://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/.
With this ROSES announcement, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are soliciting proposals from investigators at U.S. institutions to continue the work of OSTST to address remaining open questions as outlined below. CNES and EUMETSAT will solicit international (except U.S.) proposals via a TOSCA announcement in 2024 to renew the international OSTST during 2025 – 2028. NASA/NOAA selections will be coordinated with CNES/EUMETSAT selections.
Deadlines:
- Notice of Intent: Sep 5, 2024
- Proposal: Oct 17, 2024