Levels of dissolved trace and heavy metals, which can be toxic, are highly variable across the river basin, concentrating in urban areas with high pollution but diluted by inflow from tributaries.
Water quality
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The Lasting Legacy of Phosphorus Buried in Lakes
Research at an experimental lake suggests that phosphorus inputs from runoff may affect the health of aquatic ecosystems long after external additions of the nutrient are reduced.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Arsenic Pollution in Bangladesh is Catching Up with Deeper Wells
Inhabitants of Bangladesh have deepened drinking water wells to avoid extracting arsenic-rich groundwater from shallow aquifers, but these may not be free from pollution either.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Does Drinking Water Salinity Affect Child Mortality?
An association between drinking water salinity and neonatal and infant mortality in Bangladesh indicates the critical role of water salinity on child health.
Posted inNews
AquaSat Gives Water Quality Researchers New Eyes in the Sky
A new data set combining sample data and remote sensing could give scientists the power to make accurate predictions at a global scale.
Posted inNews
Great Lakes Cities’ Sewer Designs Mean Waste in the Waters
In older cities, a single system of pipes may transport sewage and stormwater runoff. As the climate crisis brings more intense storms, urban areas like Toronto are overhauling their drainage systems.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Mapping Nutrient Inputs in the Great Lakes Basin
A new tool links nitrogen and phosphorus applications to land use classifications to better understand where and how much of the nutrients enter watersheds in the U.S. Great Lakes Basin.
Posted inNews
Sustainable Agriculture Reflected in Cuba’s Water Quality
Water samples from 25 rivers in central Cuba are dominated by signs of rock weathering rather than fertilizer runoff, researchers working at Cuban and American institutions show.
Posted inNews
Análisis Climáticos Para Una Mejor Predicción de Brotes de Diarrea
Investigadores han encontrado nuevas conexiones entre las condiciones climáticas del fenómeno “La Niña” y la enfermedad más letal para los niños a nivel mundial.
Posted inOpinions
New Clean Water Act Rule Leaves U.S. Waters Vulnerable
A revised definition of which waters can be protected from pollution by the federal government ignores established science.