NASA On Air: NASA Launches Jason-3 Satellite To Measure Global Sea Levels And El Niño (1/20/2016)

LEAD: Scientists have a new satellite to help forecasters track El Niño and global sea levels. 1. On Sunday, 1-17-2016, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket placed the U.S.-European Jason-3 satellite into orbit. 2. From an altitude of 830-miles Jason-3 will precisely measure the height of 95 percent of the world's ice-free ocean every 10 days. 3. The data will help improve forecasts of hurricanes and El Niño events.4. Jason-3 will add to a 23-year satellite record of global sea surface heights. Since 1992, researchers have observed a total global sea level rise of 2.8 inches. TAG: Because it is a measure of both ocean warming and loss of land ice, sea level rise is an important indicator of human-caused climate change.