Proposed NASA ESSP Mission

ABYSS
Altimetric Bathymetry from Surface Slopes


Walter Smith, P.I.
Phone: 301-713-2857 x126

NOAA
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282


R. Keith Raney
Phone: 240-228-5384
David L. Porter, Webmaster
Phone: 240-228-4230

The Johns Hopkins University
Applied Physics Laboratory
11100 Johns Hopkins Rd.
Laurel, MD 20723 USA

Bathymetry from Space: Oceanography, Geophysics, and Climate

Project Team:
Step One Proposal:
Presentations by ABYSS Team:
  • From Geosat into the ABYSS, R. Keith Raney ( ppt)
  • The ABYSS Mission: Satellite Altimetry Optimized for Seafloor Geophysics ( pdf)
  • Ocean Currents are Influenced by Seafloor Topography, ( pdf)
  • ABYSS: A BATHYMETRIC ALTIMETER FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION,
    AIAA ISS Utilization (doc, pdf, ppt)
  • Seafloor geophysics: the need for a new satellite altimeter mission
    IAG 2001, Budapest, Hungary ( pdf)
  • Bathymetry from Space: White Paper ( doc , pdf )
  • ABYSS Power Point Presentation ( ppt )
  • Sandwell to SIO ( ppt )
Sponsor:

Participating Institutions:

Links:


Earth System Science Pathfinder Project (ESSP) Documents:

  • ESSP A03 Revised Tables (doc)
  • ESSP Announcement of Opportunity (May 18, 2001)   (pdf)
  • ESSP Announcement of Opportunity Appendicies (May 18, 2001)   (pdf)
  • International Space Station (ISS) ESSP Research Opporutnities   (pdf)


International Space Station (aft view)
(Click on image to enlarge)


The ABYSS (Altimetric BathymetrY from Surface Slopes) mission will map the ocean floor 100 times faster and cheaper than ships can, by using a state-of-the-art radar altimeter on board the International Space Station to detect subtle tilts in the ocean surface caused by seafloor to-pography below. These data are required to make accurate forecasts of global climate change, because seafloor topography and roughness control the circulation and mixing of heat through the ocean, and only 0.1% of the deep ocean has been mapped in enough detail so far. ABYSS will uncover more than 80% of the ocean in just a few years, revealing the details of the plate tectonic process, improving the accuracy of assessments of offshore resources, and furnishing marine environmental and inertial navigation data. ABYSS joins NASA, NOAA, NIMA, the U.S. Navy, and industrial partners in a collaboration to maximize the science and education return per dollar spent.

USE POLICY: This web site is maintained for the use of participants in the ABYSS Program: Bathymetry from Space. The raw data and preliminary analyses contained at this site are considered properietary by the program participants. The availability of these data and analyses on this web site does not imply permission for anyone outside the program to use these data.

To JHU/APL Ocean Remote Sensing Group Home Page
ABYSS Pages last modified: 10 May 2002