European heating satellite launched

plesetsk - A European satellite that needs to monitor global warming was launched on Wednesday. The Sentinel-3B rose from a space base in the far north of Russia. It is the twin brother of the Sentinel 3A, which was already launched in 2016.

Together, the two satellites look at the color of the ocean water. That can say something about climate change. Pool seas, for example, become greener when the temperature rises. When defrosting permafrost, the frozen soil in Siberia and Canada, peat particles end up in the sea. It then becomes more yellow. The Sentinel brothers also look at the temperature of the land and water, the state of the polar ice and the sea level rise.

The Sentinels 3A and 3B are part of a large network that has to constantly monitor the earth. Last year, for example, the Dutch instrument Tropomi was launched. He looks at air pollution. The entire network costs Europe around eight billion euros. The European Commission pays for this.

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