Conference: satellites and climate change

From 22 to 29 March, three experts from the IPCC, the French space agency and CNRS will be criss-crossing the region to meet young people in Kourou, Cayenne, Saint-Laurent and Maripasoula to talk to them about oceanography, space hydrology and climate change:

- Anny Cazenave, former CNES engineer, climate change specialist, member of the IPCC and the Académie des Sciences.

- Jacques Verron, former director of research emeritus at CNRS, specialist in oceanography and space hydrology - President of a start-up in French Guiana.

- Nicolas Picot, engineer at CNES, specialist in altimetry missions including SWOT. 

A meeting for the general public is also planned for Friday, 24 March from 18:00 to 20:00 at the University of French Guiana.

Discussions will focus on global climate change and its impact on French Guiana, the role of satellites in the early detection of climate change and the contribution of SWOT to the monitoring and management of rivers in French Guiana.

The SWOT (Surface Water Ocean Topography) satellite took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on 16 December 2022. SWOT is the first space mission to study almost all the water on the Earth's surface. Its instruments will measure the height of water in our planet's lakes, rivers, reservoirs and oceans more accurately than ever before.

This will help to facilitate water management decisions and will also provide new information about the Earth's water cycle. The satellite data will help us to better understand the rise in sea levels and the evolution of coastlines in rapidly changing climate conditions.