Floodplain storage of water, nutrients, and sediment is critical to sustaining river ecosystems but has been reduced by human activities.
Human impacts
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Big Benefits from Experimental Watersheds
Scientific insights from the Agricultural Research Service’s long-term study sites underpin dozens of models and research methods that guide global land management and conservation practices.
Posted inNews
Waterways Change as Cities Grow Nearby
Using multidecadal data sets, researchers have traced how urbanization affects streamflow across the continental United States.
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
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.
Posted inNews
Ancient Water Underlies Arid Egypt
A hidden trove of groundwater is left over from the last ice age.
Posted inScience Updates
When Floods Cross Borders, Satellite Data Can Help
With so many eyes in the sky, residents living downstream from dams now have many ways to see—and prepare for—potential dangers.
Posted inNews
Water Resources Challenges Expected to Increase
A new report identifies the highest-priority challenges and recommendations for the U.S. Geological Survey’s water mission.
Posted inNews
Will Cape Town Escape Its Water-Starved Fate?
Despite ramped-up conservation efforts and hopes lifted by a few recent rainstorms, residents of the South African metropolis still face the possibility of a water doomsday.