The Water Cycle Observation Mission is expected to help in forecasting hydrological events such as drought. (Photo : Getty Images)
By around 2020, China is eyeing to launch a Water Cycle Observation Mission (WCOM) that is expected to help in predicting hydrological events such as drought and flood, Global Times reported.
The WCOM satellite will be "the first geoscientific satellite to provide integrated observation of key elements of the global water cycle," the article wrote.
The announcement was made during the kick off of the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGRSS) 2016 in Beijing.
The Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth and the National Space Science Center with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) jointly initiated the endeavor.
In anticipation of further development, CAS has previously completed the significant research as well as the tests of WCOM's payload.
Chief WCOM scientist Shi Jiancheng remarked that "this year's floods in southern China are an example of how changes in water cycle have a direct impact on [people's] lives."
Shi added that it will be pivotal if experts could understand and forecast water cycle's distribution characteristics and changing patterns.
The scientist expects that the WCOM will be able to provide unprecedented observations made via simultaneous monitoring of vital water cycle elements including sea water salinity, surface ice, soil humidity and snow/water equivalents.
Shi explained that the success of WCOM will be able to help China in devising means on how to prevent flood and cope up with drought. It will also be beneficial in water resource management, agriculture and food and environmental security.
Meanwhile, CAS is also set to team up with European and American research teams to launch a WCOM-based satellite constellation. The group aims to form a water cycle observation network on a global scope.
Progress in key joint research endeavors was also made during the IGRSS meeting. This includes significant development in the China-France Oceanography Satellite, which is scheduled for launch in 2018, and in the Dragon Program, a venture by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the European Space Agency.
