The Jason sequel is in space! No, not the truly awful slasher movie. Jason 2, the US-European satellite that will provide us with unparallel information about sea surface height, has successfully blasted off (Eumetsat press release).

“Sea-level measurements from space have come of age,” says Michael Freilich, director of the Earth Science Division part of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (NASA press release). “Precision measurements from this mission will improve our knowledge of global and regional sea-level changes and enable more accurate weather, ocean and climate forecasts.”

Jason-2 is part of a move from research satellites to operational satellites sending back reliable data streams for practical application, as weather satellites do, as well as for science (see these Nature articles).

According to NASA, Jason 2’s instruments are a vast improvement on those of its predecessor (Jason 1, as if you needed to be told). For example it will be able to collect data to within 25 km of coasts, compared to 50 km. Its measurements will help scientists determine speed and direction of ocean currents and how much of the sun’s energy is being stored in the water.

NASA explains:

The ocean’s surface has hills and valleys, too [like the land], varying in height by as much as two meters (6.5 feet) from one place to the next. Currents flow around these hills and valleys just as wind blows around high and low pressures in the atmosphere. Shaped by currents, winds and Earth’s gravity, the surface of the ocean tells a larger story about its most basic functions – how it stores vast amounts of energy from the sun, how it moves that energy around the globe and how it works together with the atmosphere to create our weather and climate.

At the moment Jason 2 is preparing to enter orbit 60 seconds behind Jason 1, so the instruments of the two satellites can be calibrated.

“It is not a revolution between Jasion-1 and Jason-2; it is an evolution, because the main objective is to ensure continuity,” explains Francois Parisot, the Jason-2 project chief at Eumetsat (BBC). “Nevertheless, there are some improvements in the instruments. We hope to make better measurements closer to the coast [and over inland waters and rivers]; and also, we will deliver near-realtime products – products that will be available within three hours of the measurements.”

More

NASA video – we have separation!

Eumetsat: Global ocean data for global monitoring

Eumetsat: Launch description

News coverage: AFP, AP, China Daily

Image top: blast off! NASA TV

Image lower: separation of Jason 2 from Delta II rocket second stage. NASA TV