A new research effort has mapped 35 years of naturalized streamflow for 2.94 million river reaches worldwide: an invaluable dataset for hydrology, biogeochemistry, ecology, and remote sensing.
rivers
Rivers Are a Highway for Microplastics into the Ocean
New research shows that rivers are the main road for all the plastic pollution that gets into the ocean, including microplastics.
This Bridge Monitors the Environment and Harnesses Tidal Energy
The “smart” Memorial Bridge spanning the Piscataqua is outfitted with a tidal turbine and more than 40 sensors.
Restoring Natural Fire Regimes Can Yield More Water Downstream
Research in Yosemite National Park offers a new benchmark for understanding water balance changes in a mountainous basin 4 decades after its natural wildfire regime was reestablished.
Forested Streams May Warm More Than Observations Predict
Understanding how temperatures of cold-water streams respond to global warming could help clarify the impacts of climate change on aquatic ecosystems.
A More Accurate Global River Map
A new map of global river systems is based on crowdsourcing and the latest topography data sets.
Forgotten Legacies: Understanding Human Influences on Rivers
Logging, urbanization, and dam building are a few ways people have significantly altered natural river ecosystems. Understanding that influence is a grand challenge of our time.
Antibiotics Are Flooding Earth’s Rivers
The drugs can lead to drug-resistant bacteria and deadly infections.
Arctic Glacial Retreat Alters Downstream Fjord Currents
High-resolution mapping efforts could improve predictions of coastal changes as glaciers shrink around the world.
Tracking Dissolved Organic Matter in Coastal Ecosystems
Dissolved organic matter supports aquatic food webs and holds as much carbon as the atmosphere. A new study tracks which sources and processes play the biggest role in coastal systems.
