Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) is a key parameter in the global water cycle but it is not yet monitored from space. Conventional in situ SSS sampling is too sparse to give the global view of salinity variability that a remote sensing satellite can provide. The Aquarius/SAC-D Mission will make pioneering space-based measurements of global SSS with the precision, resolution, and coverage needed to characterize salinity variations (spatial and temporal), investigate the linkage between ocean circulation, the Earth's water cycle, and climate variability. It is being jointly developed by NASA and the Space Agency of Argentina, the Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE). The Project is currently in implementation phase with the flight Aquarius Instrument undergoing environmental testing at NASA-JPL/Caltech in California, USA and the SAC-D instruments and spacecraft development undergoing at CONAE/INVAP facilities in Argentina. Aquarius/SAC-D launch is scheduled for May 2010.

Date Published: 9 October 2008
PDF: 13 pages
Proc. SPIE 7106, Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites XII, 710605 (9 October 2008); doi: 10.1117/12.804033

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7106:
Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites XII
Roland Meynart; Steven P. Neeck; Haruhisa Shimoda; Shahid Habib, Editor(s)