Using Puerto Rico's Luquillo Mountains as a case study, scientists use the region's geological history to study how knickpoints—areas where there's a sharp change in the river's slope—move over time.
rivers
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A River Network Preserved Beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet
An ancient drainage basin covering one fifth of Greenland predates the ice sheet and strongly influences the modern Jakobshavn Glacier, according to a new analysis of ice-penetrating radar data.
Posted inNews
Silty Streams Muddy Freshwater Conservation Issues
Throughout the Pacific Northwest, dirt from unpaved roads can clog streams, threatening fish habitats. Scientists have only a murky understanding of how to clear up these turbid waters.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A River Runs Through It, but Why?
Researchers investigate the factors that cause river terraces to form.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The Mathematics of Braided Rivers
River researchers find a mathematical relationship that predicts the average shape of a riverbed over a defined distance, opening the door to new ideas about modeling braided rivers.
Posted inScience Updates
One for All, All for One: A Global River Research Network
Intermittent rivers are an increasing share of the world's river network, but current models don't include them. One research network is gathering knowledge about these rivers from around the world.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Much Dissolved Mercury Is Present in Streams?
The results of a new study suggest that an improved understanding of the processes mobilizing mercury in soils will be necessary to predict water quality impacts.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
When Rivers and Tides Collide
Scientists review several decades of research on the complex freshwater reach where fluvial and tidal forces meet.
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 inEditors' Vox
Tidal River Dynamics
Tidal rivers are a vital and little studied nexus between physical oceanography and hydrology.