NASA Satellite Reveals New Insights on Pacific Tsunami

A NASA satellite, designed to study how water moves on Earth, has given scientists a very clear and detailed look at a tsunami, showing things they did not know before. This is helping researchers understand how tsunamis travel across the ocean.

In July 2026, a strong earthquake struck near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. The earthquake caused a powerful tsunami that moved across the Pacific Ocean, affecting areas far from the earthquake. By chance, NASA’s Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite was positioned directly above the tsunami. This allowed scientists to see and record the tsunami from space in very high detail, which had never been done before for a large tsunami caused by a subduction-zone earthquake.

The satellite data helped scientists track how the waves moved and how fast they traveled. They discovered new patterns in the tsunami’s behavior that challenged some old ideas about how these waves act in the open ocean.

Researchers shared their results in The Seismic Record, highlighting that satellites like SWOT can improve our understanding of tsunamis and may help in future warning systems to protect coastal communities.