Launch of the SWOT satellite: monitoring the Earth's surface waters

Friday 16 December 2022 will be a milestone in the history of space hydrology with the launch of SWOT (Surface Water Ocean Topography), the first space mission that will study almost all of the Earth's surface waters!

OiEau is closely associated with this satellite programme dedicated to the collection of altimetry data, jointly developed by the French space agency (CNES), and NASA, as we have been coordinating the space hydrology group in France, since its creation in 2014.

This group is composed of French research, institutional, technical and operational actors (CNES, IRD, AFD, IRSTEA, BRLi, CNR, CLS), who wished to reconcile their technical and scientific visions and the needs of users, concerning satellite data useful for water management.

For nearly 10 years, we have been pooling our work to promote the implementation of innovative technologies and know-how and, above all, we are preparing this SWOT mission!

The group is in close contact with potential users such as transboundary basin organisations in Africa: the CICOS (International Commission of the Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Basin) for the Congo basin and the ABN (Niger Basin Authority) for the Niger basin.