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NASA launches satellite to measure salt in the sea
Jun 10, 2011, 21:43 GMT
Washington - A new satellite was orbiting the Earth Friday in a bid to measure the saltiness of the world's oceans in what scientists hope will provide information about the climate.
The Aquarius joint mission of NASA and Argentine researchers is designed to learn more about the Earth's water cycle and ocean circulation. It aims to monitor how freshwater draining into the ocean evaporates back into the atmosphere and the influence on global climate.
The satellite launched Friday from Vandenburg Air Force Base in California atop a Delta II rocket.
The three-year mission orbiting 660 kilometres above the Earth will make monthly maps of the ocean's salinty be able to compare changes from month-to-month and across longer periods of time.
Its instruments are so finely tuned, that researchers compared them to measuring a dash of salt added to a four-litre container of water.
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