Satellite altimetry

Imagine you are playing with a ball in a big swimming pool. When you throw the ball towards the side of the pool, it bounces back to you. The time it takes for the ball to bounce back to you tells you how far away the pool wall is.

Now, think about the Earth as the swimming pool and the satellite as the ball. Satellite altimetry is when scientists send a satellite into space that orbits the Earth and uses radar technology to send a signal towards the Earth's surface. The signal bounces off the surface of the Earth and back to the satellite, just like the ball in the swimming pool.

By measuring how long it takes for the signal to bounce back to the satellite, scientists can calculate the distance between the satellite and the Earth's surface. This information is called "altimetry," which means the height or depth of something above or below sea level. Scientists can use this data to map the height of the land, the depth of the oceans, and even the shape of the Earth's surface.

Satellite altimetry is used for many things like monitoring ocean currents, measuring sea level rise, and creating accurate maps of the Earth's surface. With satellite altimetry, scientists can gather important information about our planet's changing landscape and make important decisions to protect it.