(CercleFinance.com) – The SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite is undergoing final integration before it leaves for the United States for its upcoming launch.
The SWOT mission is a joint CNES and NASA mission, with the collaboration of the Canadian (CSA) and British (UKSA) space agencies. It is dedicated to measuring the surface water level of lakes and rivers, the flow of rivers and to the very fine and precise determination of ocean dynamics.
They offer two-dimensional observation 120 km wide, with a horizontal resolution of the order of 50-100 m.
Thierry Lafon, SWOT Project Manager at CNES says: ‘This pioneering mission is the first global systematic study of water on Earth and a huge step forward for better management of this resource. The international scientific community eagerly awaits these new data in order to better understand the global water cycle and to refine their understanding of the role of the ocean in climate change. ‘