PASADENA, Calif. - A joint U.S.-French ocean satellite has captured the first high-resolution images of a massive Pacific tsunami, offering scientists a rare, sweeping view of wave behavior previously unseen from space.

The SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite recorded the leading edge of the tsunami about 70 minutes after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on July 30, 2025.

The imagery, representing a swath up to roughly 120 kilometers wide, revealed a surprisingly complex pattern of wave propagation. Instead of a simple, single crest, the tsunami dispersed energy stretching across the Pacific basin.

Measurements from the satellite indicated the tsunami’s leading wave in open ocean registered more than 1.5 feet in height. While that ma

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