A powerful earthquake captured by satellite could reshape how we understand and predict tsunamis
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When a tsunami forms in the open ocean, it usually escapes human detection — a deep‑water surge racing silently beneath the surface. But on this rare occasion, July 29, 2025, a satellite happened to be in the right place at the right moment.
Launched in 2022 by NASA and the French space agency CNES, the SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite was designed to measure subtle changes in water height and monitor slow‑moving ocean currents. But on July 29, 2025, it captured something far more dramatic.
As SWOT passed over the Kuril–Kamchatka subduction zone off Russia’s Pacific coast, a massive 8.8‑magnitude earthquake struck — placing the satellite directly above one of the most powerful seismic events in recent history.
Ángel Ruiz‑Angulo of the University of Iceland and his research team incorporated data from DART (Deep‑ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis) buoys positioned along the tsunami’s path to reconstruct the rupture dynamics of the magnitude 8.8 earthquake. The seismic event ranks as the sixth most powerful earthquake recorded worldwide since 1900.
The Surface Water Ocean Topography or SWOT satellite captured the first high-resolution spaceborne track of a great subduction zone tsunami, as reported by researchers in The Seismic Record.
Its instruments recorded the wave as it unfolded in real time, giving scientists an unprecedented look at how a tsunami evolves long before it reaches land.
The observation, reported on by Futura‑Sciences, from the original study published by The Seismological Society of America, has quickly drawn global attention from researchers who say the data could reshape early‑warning systems and improve our understanding of how seismic events transfer energy across entire ocean basins.
Ruiz-Angulo said he and study co-author Charly de Marez “had been analyzing SWOT data for over two years understanding different processes in the ocean like small eddies, never imagining that we would be fortunate enough to capture a tsunami", the SSOA wrote on November 29th, 2025.
The satellite’s measurements captured subtle changes in sea‑surface height — the kind of detail normally impossible to detect without specialized equipment.
For scientists studying tectonic hazards, the event is more than a curiosity. It’s been hailed as a breakthrough that could help refine tsunami‑forecasting models and strengthen preparedness in coastal regions worldwide.
"The main impact that this observation has for tsunami modelers is that we are missing something in the models we used to run,” Ruiz-Angulo added.
“This ‘extra’ variability could represent that the main wave could be modulated by the trailing waves as it approaches some coast. We would need to quantify this excess of dispersive energy and evaluate if it has an impact that was not considered before.”
Illustration Credit:
A schematic view of a satellite capturing an ocean wave from space. The image is meant for illustration purposes and is not scientifically correct. Executed by MS CoPilot from a prompt by Bjorn Ulfsson / CTIF.
Further Reading:
https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-satellite-captures-first-ever-high-res-view-of-a-giant-pacific-tsunami/
https://earth.esa.int/eogateway