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A U.S.-French satellite has been with a mission to all the world's oceans, lakes, reservoirs, rivers and other waterways. The satellite has been SWOT - Surface Water and Ocean Topography. It went into space just before dawn on Friday. Scientists hope data from the satellite will them to monitor how climate change is adversely water levels. The U.S. broadcaster PBS said: "The satellite is more than ever, as climate change droughts, flooding and coastal erosion." A NASA spokesperson of the mission's importance. She said: "It's a pivotal moment....We're going to Earth's water like we've never it before."

The SWOT satellite is about the size of an SUV (sports utility vehicle). It 20 years to , at a cost of $1.2 billion. High-precision radar equipment will the height of water on more than 90 per cent of Earth's surface. It will millions of lakes, as well as 2.1 million kilometres of rivers. Scientists will potential areas of water loss that could local populations and coastlines. NASA said SWOT is a marked technological upgrade from its predecessors. A spokesperson said: "SWOT will us a ten-fold improvement in the [accuracy] and spatial resolution of our measurements of water height." It will scientists to better , "the critical role the oceans in climate change".