Jason 2, a joint US-French oceanographic monitoring satellite that will be critical to our understanding of climate change, was successfully launched into space last night from California's Vandenberg Air Force base.   Jason 2 is a high-tech oceanography space lab designed to monitor sea levels and currents. It will take readings with an accuracy of better than four centimeters. Its data will track not only rises in sea levels but also reveal how masses of waters are moving around the globe.    The information will be fundamental in helping weather and climate agencies make better forecasts and will be particularly useful in storm prediction. Jason will see the surface waters rise as warm eddies fuel hurricanes, allowing meteorologists to issue better, more timely warnings.    Jason 2 will provide a topographic map of 95 percent of the Earth's ice-free oceans every 10 days. Although we think of the sea as being flat, it actually has "hills" and "valleys", where the highs and lows may be as much as two meters apart.    Jason 2 data will have many other uses. Industry will be able to use the information to decide when conditions are most suitable for undersea drilling or cable laying, for instance.    Jason will also help identify where wreckage or pollution may drift, and assist marine biologists to track whales by pinpointing waters with the potential to be prime feeding and breeding grounds.    Maritime navigation should also benefit, as sea voyages will be able to be planned to take advantage of currents, which could be a major source of fuel savings.   The Jason 2 mission is a partnership between the US space agency NASA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the French National Center of Space Studies (CNES) and the European satellite agency EUMETSAT.   Jason 2 is programmed to maneuver into the same orbit as its predecessor Jason 1, which was launched in 2001, and eventually replace the older craft.    *          *          *