Most of the world’s rivers are far more complicated than prediction models suggest
New satellite data reveals that most of the world's large rivers are more complicated than prediction models suggest, raising concerns about water forecasts. Much of what we know about the world’s rivers comes from computer models, since it’s impossible to measure every river directly. On a tidy river, with one channel, no dam, and no glacier feeding it, those models do well. New research using a river-measuring satellite suggests that a tidy river is the exception, making up only about 11% of the large rivers the satellite can see. Dammed rivers, rivers in dry regions and many Arctic rivers give the models more trouble. On some of them, the models get the rhythm of rising and falling water backward. Colin Gleason, a hydrologist in the Riccio College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, led the 38-person team. The work was completed during his visit to the…
