Europe's water satellite tracks the floods in Pakistan

Data from the European Space Agency's new SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) satellite is being used to fight the floods in Pakistan. SMOS carries an interferometric radiometer that senses the wetness of soil, and the information is being used to understand how the region's earth became so saturated by the monsoon rains.

Satellite data is increasingly used to help the victims of major disasters. In the case of Pakistan, the world's satellite fleets were mobilized on 2 August to provide information under the International Charter on Space and Disasters.  

It is expected that SMOS will play a key role in preventing future flooding disasters. By identifying soil saturation, the satellite can give advance warning on which areas in a flood-stricken region are likely to be hit next if rain continues to fall.

"What we show is not the flood area; what we show is the water content in the soil," Dr Claire Gruhier, a SMOS researcher in Toulouse, told the BBC.