We now have a brand new software for monitoring Earth’s oceans: The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft, which has taken over from its predecessor to change into the official satellite tv for pc for measuring international sea ranges. It took over its new position on Tuesday, March 22, and can play an necessary position in monitoring local weather change.
The satellite tv for pc, which is a joint undertaking between the European House Company (ESA) and NASA, was launched in November 2020 and has been accumulating preliminary knowledge since then. As soon as engineers have been assured its devices have been calibrated and correct, it took over official sea stage monitoring from the Jason-3 satellite tv for pc that was launched in 2016.
“These missions, of which Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is the most recent, are the gold customary in relation to sea stage measurements, that are essential for understanding and monitoring local weather change,” mentioned Josh Willis, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich undertaking scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a assertion. “We will’t lose monitor of how a lot sea stage has gone up as a result of if we do, it’s onerous to foretell what’s going to occur within the many years to come back.”
This satellite tv for pc is the primary of a pair, with its companion Sentinel-6B set to launch in 2025. Collectively, they’ll take long-term information of rising sea ranges, which is able to present details about the speed of world local weather change. As well as, the satellites may even monitor different elements like how water vapor and temperature differ all through the ambiance.
“The unprecedented accuracy of the ocean stage measurements supplied by this mission ensures not solely the continuity of a 30-year knowledge file, however permits enhancing our understanding of local weather change and the affect of rising seas on coastal areas and communities,” mentioned Julia Figa Saldana, ocean altimetry program supervisor on the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).
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