False colour map of the world's oceans, colour coded to show the difference in mean sea height between summer 1978 and summer 1987. The colour range r

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False colour map of the world's oceans, colour coded to show the difference in mean sea height between summer 1978 and summer 1987. The colour range runs from purple (minus 25cm) through blue, green (no change), yellow and orange to red (plus 20cm). These are natural variations, not thought to be associated with global warming. The largest rises in mean sea level are seen in a band across the Pacific Ocean, the South Pacific off Australia and in the North Atlantic. Large drops in sea level are seen north of Australia, off the coast of Antarctica and in the Mediterranean Sea. The data for this image were gathered by the Seasat satellite in 1978 and Geosat satellite in 1987.

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Size: 3668px × 2598px
Photo credit: © NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: change, decadal, geosat, imagery, level, ocean, sea, surface, variability