Probe to track impact of warming on earth's water cycle

A €315 million satellite that will gauge the impact of climate change on the movement of water across land, air and sea was hoisted into space, the European Space Agency said.

The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) probe was lifted into space on a Russian Rockot launcher from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia.

By providing the first space-based measures of earth's surface soil moisture and ocean salinity, SMOS will fill important gaps in scientific knowledge about our planet's life-giving water cycle.

It will also help meteorologists predict extreme weather events and make more accurate forecasts in near-real time, said experts.

"Climate change is a fact, but its impact on precipitation, evaporation, surface run-off and flood risks is still uncertain," said Yann Kerr, a researcher at the Centre for the Study of the Biosphere from Space and scientific director for the SMOS mission.