Paris (Global Adventures): Scientists hope that a new satellite launched today will help to find answers about precipitation, evaporation, surface runoff, flood risks, and changes in the salinity of the ocean’s surface water.

The 315 million euro ($460 million) Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) probe, launched by the European Space Agency (ESA), was carried into space on a Russian Rocket launcher. The satellite is now orbiting 760 kilometers (470 miles) above Earth from where it will gauge the impact of climate change on the movement of water across land, air and sea.

By providing precise measures of soil moisture and ocean surface salt levels, SMOS will fill important gaps in scientific knowledge about the water cycle and help meteorologists make more accurate forecasts in near-real time, say experts. Measuring soil water content to a depth of one-to-two meters across the planet every three days will help forecast drought and flood risk.

Measuring changes in the salt content of sea surface waters will enhance the understanding of what drives global ocean circulation patterns. Ocean circulation helps to moderate the earth’s climate, notably by transporting heat from the equator to the poles.

Some studies have suggested that global warming could disrupt these cycles and dramatically alter regional weather patterns. Variations in the salinity of ocean waters depend on the addition or removal of fresh water through evaporation and precipitation and, in Polar Regions, on the freezing and melting of ice.