<s>
The	O
Surface	B-Algorithm
Water	I-Algorithm
and	I-Algorithm
Ocean	I-Algorithm
Topography	I-Algorithm
(	O
SWOT	B-Algorithm
)	O
mission	O
is	O
a	O
satellite	O
altimeter	O
jointly	O
developed	O
and	O
operated	O
by	O
NASA	O
and	O
CNES	O
,	O
the	O
French	O
space	O
agency	O
,	O
in	O
partnership	O
with	O
the	O
Canadian	O
Space	O
Agency	O
(	O
CSA	O
)	O
and	O
UK	O
Space	O
Agency	O
(	O
UKSA	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
past	O
satellite	O
missions	O
like	O
the	O
Jason	B-Algorithm
series	O
altimeters	O
(	O
TOPEX/Poseidon	O
,	O
Jason-1	B-Algorithm
,	O
Jason-2	B-Algorithm
,	O
Jason-3	O
)	O
have	O
provided	O
variation	O
in	O
river	O
and	O
lake	O
water	O
surface	O
elevations	O
at	O
select	O
locations	O
,	O
SWOT	B-Algorithm
will	O
provide	O
the	O
first	O
truly	O
global	O
observations	O
of	O
changing	O
water	O
levels	O
,	O
stream	O
slopes	O
,	O
and	O
inundation	O
extents	O
in	O
rivers	O
,	O
lakes	O
,	O
and	O
floodplains	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
oceans	O
,	O
SWOT	B-Algorithm
will	O
observe	O
ocean	O
circulation	O
at	O
unprecedented	O
scales	O
of	O
,	O
approximately	O
an	O
order	O
of	O
magnitude	O
finer	O
than	O
current	O
satellites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
it	O
uses	O
wide-swath	O
altimetry	O
technology	O
,	O
SWOT	B-Algorithm
will	O
almost	O
completely	O
observe	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
oceans	O
and	O
freshwater	O
bodies	O
with	O
repeated	O
high-resolution	O
elevation	O
measurements	O
,	O
allowing	O
observations	O
of	O
variations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SWOT	B-Algorithm
builds	O
on	O
a	O
long-standing	O
partnership	O
between	O
NASA	O
and	O
CNES	O
to	O
measure	O
the	O
surface	O
of	O
the	O
ocean	O
using	O
radar	O
altimetry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
partnership	O
began	O
with	O
the	O
TOPEX/Poseidon	O
mission	O
(	O
launched	O
in	O
1992	O
)	O
and	O
continued	O
with	O
the	O
Jason	B-Algorithm
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SWOT	B-Algorithm
brings	O
together	O
the	O
hydrology	O
and	O
oceanography	O
communities	O
and	O
will	O
extend	O
the	O
precise	O
,	O
high-resolution	O
surface	O
topography	O
observations	O
into	O
the	O
coastal	O
and	O
estuarine	O
regions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SWOT	B-Algorithm
retraces	O
the	O
same	O
path	O
over	O
the	O
Earth	O
's	O
surface	O
every	O
21	O
days	O
,	O
during	O
292	O
orbits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SWOT	B-Algorithm
is	O
designed	O
for	O
the	O
study	O
and	O
monitoring	O
of	O
inland	O
waters	O
and	O
the	O
oceans	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
SWOT	B-Algorithm
will	O
provide	O
global	O
information	O
as	O
input	O
for	O
systems	O
monitoring	O
transboundary	O
river	O
basins	O
,	O
including	O
measurements	O
of	O
variations	O
in	O
reservoir	O
water	O
storage	O
and	O
estimates	O
of	O
river	O
discharge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SWOT	B-Algorithm
will	O
enable	O
more	O
accurate	O
weather	O
and	O
climate	O
forecasting	O
,	O
especially	O
seasonally	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	O
from	O
SWOT	B-Algorithm
will	O
contribute	O
at	O
a	O
global	O
level	O
by	O
providing	O
water	O
supply	O
services	O
and	O
distribution	O
companies	O
with	O
information	O
about	O
major	O
reservoirs	O
and	O
the	O
largest	O
rivers	O
and	O
catchment	O
areas	O
,	O
thus	O
enabling	O
them	O
to	O
plan	O
the	O
management	O
of	O
water	O
stocks	O
further	O
into	O
the	O
future	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Altimetry	O
data	O
from	O
the	O
SWOT	B-Algorithm
mission	O
will	O
make	O
it	O
possible	O
to	O
measure	O
the	O
3-dimensional	O
shape	O
of	O
flood	O
waves	O
,	O
track	O
floodwater	O
levels	O
,	O
and	O
improve	O
measurements	O
of	O
local	O
topographic	O
details	O
in	O
floodplains	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SWOT	B-Algorithm
will	O
provide	O
global	O
,	O
high-resolution	O
observations	O
in	O
coastal	O
regions	O
for	O
observing	O
coastal	O
currents	O
and	O
storm	O
surges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
SWOT	B-Algorithm
is	O
not	O
designed	O
to	O
monitor	O
the	O
fast	O
temporal	O
changes	O
of	O
the	O
coastal	O
processes	O
,	O
the	O
swath	O
coverage	O
will	O
allow	O
us	O
to	O
characterize	O
the	O
spatial	O
structure	O
of	O
their	O
dynamics	O
when	O
they	O
occur	O
within	O
the	O
swath	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
generally	O
,	O
SWOT	B-Algorithm
will	O
help	O
improve	O
our	O
knowledge	O
of	O
Earth	O
's	O
water	O
cycle	O
and	O
ocean	O
circulation	O
,	O
enhance	O
our	O
observation	O
capacity	O
by	O
collecting	O
unique	O
data	O
on	O
water	O
storage	O
and	O
fluxes	O
and	O
making	O
them	O
freely	O
available	O
,	O
and	O
help	O
us	O
better	O
understand	O
the	O
physics	O
that	O
drives	O
surface	O
water	O
and	O
ocean	O
dynamics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
instrument	O
on	O
SWOT	B-Algorithm
is	O
the	O
Ka-band	O
Radar	O
Interferometer	O
(	O
KaRIn	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
uses	O
synthetic-aperture	B-Application
radar	I-Application
(	O
SAR	O
)	O
technology	O
,	O
especially	O
SAR	O
interferometry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
SWOT	B-Algorithm
operates	O
at	O
Ka-band	O
'	O
s	O
relatively	O
short	O
wavelengths	O
,	O
–	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
Ku-band	B-Algorithm
Jason	B-Algorithm
series	O
,	O
–	O
and	O
at	O
near-nadir	O
incidence	O
angles	O
(	O
<	O
5°	O
)	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
uniquely	O
appropriate	O
for	O
measuring	O
water	O
surface	O
elevations	O
and	O
inundation	O
extents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
radar	O
system	O
is	O
smaller	O
than	O
,	O
but	O
similar	O
to	O
,	O
the	O
one	O
that	O
flew	O
on	O
NASA	O
's	O
Shuttle	B-Algorithm
Radar	I-Algorithm
Topography	I-Algorithm
Mission	I-Algorithm
(	O
SRTM	B-Algorithm
)	O
,	O
which	O
made	O
high-resolution	O
measurements	O
of	O
Earth	O
's	O
land	O
surface	O
in	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
conventional	O
nadir	O
radar	O
altimeter	O
will	O
also	O
be	O
flown	O
,	O
and	O
measure	O
just	O
beneath	O
the	O
satellite	O
,	O
as	O
was	O
done	O
on	O
the	O
Topex/Poseidon	O
,	O
Jason	B-Algorithm
series	O
,	O
and	O
SARAL	O
missions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SWOT	B-Algorithm
was	O
developed	O
by	O
an	O
international	O
group	O
of	O
hydrologists	O
and	O
oceanographers	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
better	O
understanding	O
of	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
oceans	O
and	O
its	O
terrestrial	O
surface	O
waters	O
.	O
</s>
