Ships using sonar can also map abyssal hills, but it’s a slow and difficult task. To date, ships have only mapped about a quarter of the planet’s ocean floor. SWOT was designed to do much more ...

More precise maps created using data from the SWOT mission can enhance underwater navigation and provide deeper insights into the movement of heat and marine life across the world's oceans ...

said that storm taught planners a lot about flood risks. A new modeling technique employed to make the maps "deals with how wind pushes water along long stretches of ocean," Bolling said.