five biggest earthquakes ever documented, which remains remarkably potent. That quake initiated a tsunami that traversed the Pacific Ocean, and NASA’s latest SWOT satellite documented the massive wave in detail.
The SWOT satellite, which stands for Surface Water and Ocean Topography, was launched just recently in 2022. This earthquake marks the largest event the satellite has observed so far. By utilizing data from it and deep-ocean tsunami buoys, scientists were able to delineate the earthquake’s rupture area, extending approximately 250 miles and raising sections of the ocean floor by as much as 13 feet. The satellite documented how the tsunami waves transformed as they progressed, providing researchers with a comprehensive model to analyze.
The findings regarding this incident were released in The Seismic Record in November 2025. The publication emphasizes the peril of megaquakes and illustrates how satellites such as SWOT are revolutionizing scientists’ capacity to understand, monitor, and forecast tsunamis.
