New Satellite should help Improve Climate Change Prediction
A computer graphic image of the Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer. Image courtesy of the ESA.
A new, low altitude satellite project that aims to produce an extremely accurate map of the earth's gravitational field will soon be launched.
By comparing the surface shape of the oceans with the undulations in the gravitational field, scientists can arrive at a more accurate picture of the oceans' currents - the flows that transport vast amounts of heat around the planet and so have a profound impact on the global climate, according to the Guardian article.
By having much more accurate information about ocean currents, climate scientists hope that this information will help them improve their long-term predictions.
A new map will be produced once every 70 days for the next year and a half.
Just a one-centimeter difference in ocean height generated a current flow of 1 cubic meters a second, according to Chris Hughes of the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory in Liverpool, England.
Here is a link to the project site.
