Lamprologus lethops, a fish that lives in the lower Congo River, is pale and blind like fish that dwell in caves deep underwater. (Image: © Courtesy of Melanie Stiassny) SAN FRANCISCO — A mysterious case of dying fish in the lower Congo River helped scientists discover that this body is […]
Estuaries, where rivers pour freshwater into the ocean, could become giant power plants with the help of a newly made membrane. LWM/NASA/LANDSAT/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO BOSTON—Green energy advocates may soon be turning blue. A new membrane could unlock the potential of “blue energy,” which uses chemical differences between fresh- and saltwater […]
Adjusting the water flow rate in a river can prevent invasive species from moving upstream and expanding their range. An applied mathematician at UT has developed a partial differential equation (PDE) model to find the desired flow rate to reduce invasive populations. The model is detailed in a new paper […]
Sudanese farmers like Othman Idris say Ethiopia’s construction of a controversial dam on the Blue Nile is a dream come true that would regulate flooding during rainy seasons The Blue Nile is a renegade river, according to Sudanese farmer Osman Idris, its unpredictable flooding swallows crops and houses as it […]
Satellite images used in the study show deforestation and elevated suspended sediment (orange/brown water) due to gold mining operations in the Rio Inambari and Rio Colorado watersheds in Peru. Credit: Images are from NASA LandSat. Figure compiled by Evan N. Dethier. A Dartmouth study finds that artisanal-scale gold mining is […]
Experts say the Mekong river is at a “crisis point” The once-mighty Mekong river has been reduced to a thin, grubby neck of water in stretches of northern Thailand—record lows blamed on drought and a recently completed dam far upstream. The $4.47 billion Thai-owned Xayaburi hydro-electric power plant went into […]
Young Dutch inventor Boyan Slat, right, unveils the Interceptor in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. Slat is taking his effort to clean up floating plastic from the Pacific Ocean to rivers, using the Interceptor, a new floating device to catch garbage before it reaches the seas. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong) […]
In this June 18, 2019 photo, a man crosses a bridge over the Langarica River, a tributary to the Vjosa near the city of Permet, Albania. Albania’s government has set in motion plans to dam the Vjosa and its tributaries to generate much-needed electricity for one of Europe’s poorest countries, […]
Antarctica’s ice shelves are under attack at their most vulnerable points. On Antarctica’s East Getz Ice Shelf, monstrous fractures seem to form in the same places year after year. A new study suggests this reliable breakage may be the effect of underwater “rivers” of hot, buoyant water attacking the ice […]
The León River, a tropical montane river in the Andean-Amazon region, running through pristine montane forest after heavy rains, transporting significant amounts of sediment into the Pastaza Basin in Ecuador. Credit: E. Suárez Large tropical mountain river systems aren’t getting the respect they deserve—at least not when it comes to […]