Latest SMOS Stories

ESA [ Watch The Video Freshwater Plume From SMOS And Aquarius ] The saltiness of the oceans is being closely monitored from space by both ESA’s SMOS and NASA’s Aquarius missions, but in slightly different ways. By joining forces, researchers are exploiting these complementary missions to benefit climate science even further. Everyone knows that seawater is salty, but it isn’t that obvious that the concentration of salt – the salinity – of the surface waters of the world’s...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online The European Space Agency's SMOS satellite is showing its worth in observing the wetlands, offering a better understanding of Earth's carbon cycle. SMOS is a multifaceted satellite capable of mapping soil moisture and ocean salinity, and its novel microwave sensor is able to capture images of brightness temperature to obtain this information. The satellite has been used to map freezing soil, monitor thin Arctic sea ice, determine...

ESA [ Watch The Video Sea-Surface Salinity and Currents ] ESA’s water mission is shedding new light on the meandering Gulf Stream, just one of the SMOS satellite’s numerous achievements. Launched in 2009, ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite has been helping us to understand the water cycle. Over the past three years it has been providing more accurate information on global soil moisture and ocean salinity. New results unveiled today in Spain show that SMOS...

ESA When millions of people are bracing themselves for the onslaught of extreme weather, as much information as possible is needed to predict the strength of the impending storm. ESA’s SMOS mission again showed its versatility by capturing unique measurements of Hurricane Sandy. As its name suggests, the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite was designed to measure how much moisture is held in soil and how much salt is held in the surface waters of the oceans. This...

Earth observation measurements shouldn’t be taken with a pinch of salt. ESA is comparing readings of sea-surface salinity from drifting floats to confirm the SMOS water mission’s measurements. Since its launch in 2009, ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite has been helping us to understand the water cycle. As with any Earth observation mission, it is important to validate the readings acquired from space. This involves comparing the satellite data with...

ESA's SMOS satellite completed its six-month commissioning this week and formally began operational life. This milestone means the mission is now set to provide much-needed global images of soil moisture and ocean salinity to improve our understanding of the water cycle.The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite was launched on 2 November last year, and has since undergone an intense program of calibration and commissioning in preparation for its life in service.At a three-day...

In less than four months since launch, the first calibrated images are being delivered by ESA's SMOS mission. These images of 'brightness temperature' translate into clear information on global variations of soil moisture and ocean salinity to advance our understanding of the water cycle.Launched on November 2, the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission is improving our understanding of Earth's water cycle by making global observations of soil moisture over land and salinity over...