Swings from snow drought to extreme winter rainfall make managing reservoirs, like the Oroville Dam, incredibly difficult. But what exactly is "snow drought"?
dams & reservoirs
Posted inScience Updates
International Effort Tackles Landslide Hazards to Keep the Peace
Earth scientists work with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to help keep a border-straddling hydroelectric power plant on the Black Sea coast safe from landslides.
Posted inNews
It’s Not Just Fracking: New Database of Human-Induced Quakes
In the largest compilation of anthropogenically induced earthquakes, causes range from building water reservoirs to mining.
Posted inNews
Evidence Found for China's Ancient Origin Story
New geological findings suggest that an ancient flood in a popular legend about the birth of China's civilization might have actually occurred, but some 150 years later than historians thought.
Posted inNews
Controversial Pacts Aim for Dam Removals on Western U.S. River
New agreements regarding the Klamath River in Oregon and California would enable the largest U.S. dam removal project ever. Critics say water quality will suffer, decry hydropower loss.
Posted inScience Updates
New Interest in Reservoir Evaporation in Western United States
Reservoir Evaporation Workshop; Boulder, Colorado, 22–23 October 2015
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Reimagining a Fatal Flood
Researchers use high-resolution simulations to reexamine the rainfall events that led to one of the most destructive floods in U.S. history.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Reservoirs Act as a Source for Greenhouse Gases
Scientists examine nitrous oxide production in aquatic environments and the conditions that drive it.
Posted inFeatures
Contaminated Sediment and Dam Removals: Problem or Opportunity?
Restoring rivers to their free-flowing state promises a host of environmental benefits, but contaminated sediments may cloud the picture.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Satellite Measurements May Help Real-Time Water Management
Upper Niger River study shows that satellite altimetry could help resource managers optimize reservoir releases even on ungauged rivers.