NASA to conduct first global water survey from space

An international satellite mission led by NASA will launch from Southern California on Thursday in a major Earth science project to conduct a comprehensive survey of the world’s oceans, lakes and rivers for the first time.

Dubbed Swot, short for ocean and surface water topography, the advanced radar satellite is designed to provide scientists with an unprecedented view of the vital liquid that covers 70% of the planet, shedding new light on the mechanics and consequences of climate changes.

A Falcon 9 rocket, owned and operated by billionaire Elon Musk’s commercial launch company, SpaceX, was scheduled to lift off before dawn on Thursday from U.S. Space Force Base in Vandenberg, about 275 km northwest of Los Angeles, to get the SWOT into orbit.

If all goes as planned, the SUV-sized satellite will produce survey data within several months.

Nearly 20 years in development, Swot incorporates advanced microwave radar technology that scientists say will collect surface measurements of oceans, lakes, reservoirs and rivers in high-definition detail over more than 90% of the globe. .

The data, compiled from radar scans of the planet conducted at least twice every 21 days, will improve ocean circulation models, can bolster weather and climate predictions and help manage scarce freshwater supplies in hard-hit regions. by drought, according to researchers.

The satellite was designed and built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles. Developed by the US space agency in collaboration with its counterparts in France and Canada, Swot was one of 15 missions listed by the National Research Council as projects NASA must undertake over the next decade.

“It really is the first mission to observe almost all of the water on the planet’s surface,” said JPL scientist Ben Hamlington, who also leads NASA’s sea level change team.

One of the main objectives of the mission is to explore how the oceans absorb atmospheric heat and carbon dioxide in a natural process that moderates global temperatures and climate change.

Scanning the seas from orbit, Swot is designed to precisely measure fine differences in surface elevations around smaller currents and eddies, where much of the ocean’s heat and carbon depletion is thought to take place. And SWOT can do this with 10 times the resolution of existing technologies, according to JPL.