SWOT Satellite Reveals Global River Models Overstate Water Swings

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

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