NASA has started a mission to study the water level of rivers and lakes
This mission aims to help researchers predict floods and droughts
The American Space Agency (NASA) has launched a satellite that is expected to transform our view of water on Earth. The SWOT mission will map the precise height of rivers, reservoirs and lakes, and track ocean surface features at unprecedented scales. This mission should improve flood and drought forecasts, and help researchers better understand how the climate is changing. This has been reported by Jonathan Amos from BBC News.
British scientists have been asked to help set up the satellite using the Bristol Channel as a reference point. UK researchers are placing a suite of sensors in the estuary to ‘play’ the observations made by the satellite as it flies at an altitude of 890km.
The takeoff of the satellite on the Topography of surface waters and oceans mission occurred from California. A Falcon rocket lifted it into the sky at 03:46 local time. We will have to wait days to verify that all the systems work correctly and that the mission can start without delay.
