About SWOT satellite data application in Bangladesh
Newly launched SWOT satellite holds immense potential for revolutionizing river monitoring and water resources management, particularly in flood-prone and data-scarce countries like Bangladesh. By becoming a lower riparian country with limited ground-based coverage, limited financial resources, and many remote or hard-to-reach regions, the use of satellite-based data becomes essential for achieving consistent, wide-scale hydrological observation in Bangladesh. In this project, river reaches observed by SWOT were identified using the SWORD, and time-series water surface elevation data were retrieved through the Hydrocron API and then intergated in the front-end live server. The real-time information will be vaulable for the stakeholder organizations who can get benefitted from SWOT observsations where they cannot afford managing water monitoring gauges. In the next phase, we plan to integrate the water heights from upstream rivers so that early signals of flood propagation can also be detected.
More about SWOT Satellite: Measuring Earth’s Water Like Never Before
A concise guide to NASA’s Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission — what it does, why it matters, and how it benefits communities and the planet.
The key instrument is a Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn). Rather than a single nadir pulse, KaRIn measures height over a wide swath on either side of the satellite track, producing two parallel “strips” of elevation measurements plus a central nadir track. This lets scientists measure the surface elevation of oceans, lakes and rivers with high spatial detail. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
Fast facts
- Launch: Launched December 16, 2022
- Partners: A joint mission led by NASA and the French space agency CNES, with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK Space Agency.
- Coverage: SWOT observes more than ~90% of Earth’s surface area in each 21-day orbital cycle (science repeat period).
- Instrument highlight: KaRIn makes wide-swath height maps that reveal small-scale ocean features and river/lake elevations previously unmeasured from space.
Why the mission matters — public benefits
SWOT’s observations produce tangible benefits for people and the planet. Below are key ways SWOT data gets used:
Flood & drought preparedness
High-resolution measurements of rivers, reservoirs, and lakes improve flood forecasting, early warning systems, and drought monitoring. Knowing how water levels change over time helps emergency managers act earlier and allocate resources more effectively.
Coastal resilience & sea-level planning
By measuring ocean surface topography at finer scales, SWOT helps detect sea-level rise, coastal currents, and storm-surge risk — informing infrastructure planning, insurance models, and community protection strategies.
Smarter water management & agriculture
Farmers and water managers can use more accurate maps of freshwater availability and reservoir storage to optimize irrigation, conserve water, and maintain supplies during dry spells.
Better ocean and weather forecasts
SWOT reveals small ocean eddies and currents that influence regional weather, marine navigation, and fisheries. Feeding these measurements into ocean models improves forecasts important to shipping, coastal communities, and ecosystems.
Who can use the data?
SWOT data are made available to the public and research communities. That means scientists, governments, humanitarian agencies, farmers, coastal planners, and even curious members of the public can access and use the measurements to make better decisions. :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}
- NASA / JPL — SWOT Mission pages and launch information: https://swot.jpl.nasa.gov/
- NASA science articles on KaRIn and mission goals.
- Technical notes on coverage and repeat cycle (21 days).