Connectivity News: 27 August 2025

January 9, 2026, 8:18 PM EST. An orbiting NASA-CNES mission, SWOT, captured a high-resolution, two-dimensional view of a magnitude-8.8 tsunami off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula as warnings rippled across the Pacific on July 29, 2025. The dataset, published in The Seismic Record, combines SWOT's satellite altimetry with deep-ocean buoys to reshape how scientists reconstruct earthquake ruptures, assess tsunami hazards, and gauge recurrence of "great" earthquakes along major subduction zones. The 1952 Severo-Kurilsk event set a benchmark in tsunami science; yet the 2025 quake triggered warnings and evacuations across the Pacific, yet produced far less coastal destruction. Researchers say the variation stems from rupture style and ocean dynamics, underscoring the value of SWOT in post-event forecasting and source characterization.