CNES

SWOT Satellite Reveals Global River Models Overstate Water Swings

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SWOT Satellite Reveals Global River Models Overstate Water Swings

NASA and France’s CNES space agency have delivered something hydrologists have wanted for decades: a direct, month-by-month accounting of how much water the world’s rivers gain and lose over a full year. During its first observation cycle, running from October 2023 to September 2024, the SWOT satellite logged a swing of roughly 313 cubic kilometers … Read more

NASA Satellite Data Shows 47% of Global Freshwater Basins Shrinking

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NASA Satellite Data Shows 47% of Global Freshwater Basins Shrinking

NASA has released the first full global inventory from its Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, and the numbers are stark: 47% of the planet’s continental freshwater basins have lost significant volume compared with a 2015 baseline. The mission, developed with France’s CNES, covers rivers wider than 100 meters, lakes and reservoirs across all … Read more