Nasa mission will give unprecedented view of Earth’s surface water

Swot satellite is scheduled to be launched Thursday morning, and will use advanced radar to more fully map Earth's vital resource

A Nasa-led international satellite mission was set for blastoff from southern California early on Thursday as part of a major earth science project to conduct a comprehensive survey of the world's oceans, lakes and rivers for the first time.

Dubbed Swot, short for surface water and ocean topography", the advanced radar satellite is designed to give scientists an unprecedented view of the life-giving fluid covering 70% of the planet, shedding new light on the mechanics and consequences of climate change.