Last month, WHRC led an expedition of international scientists down the Columbia River, the largest river in the Pacific Northwest. The trip was part of the Global Rivers Observatory, a project that WHRC runs in conjunction with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

Scientists from WHRC and WHOI collaborate to monitor the vital signs of Earth’s most significant river systems, from tropical rivers such as the Amazon and the Congo, to the rivers that flow north and empty into the Arctic, such as the Kolyma, and the Lena. In all, the Observatory monitors 18 different watersheds.

Rivers are conduits of material and chemical flow from land to ocean, and they can tell a lot about the health of a watershed, according to WHRC Deputy Director Max Holmes, one of the leaders of the Global Rivers Observatory.

Dr. Holmes and Dr. Bernhard Peucker-Ehrenbrink of WHOI led the collection of water samples – which were transported back to the WHRC laboratory. WHRC scientist Anya Suslova took part in the expedition and is currently analyzing the samples.

Traveling upriver from the ocean over the course of a week, the scientists passed through dramatically different ecosystems and also saw the effects of deforestation and development. They passed log-laden vessels, and the hillsides were patchy with areas of clear-cut land.

“When went to bed, the riverside was covered in huge, tall trees, and it was all dense and green,” Ms. Suslova said. “When we woke up, it was a desert. The change in the landscape was crazy.”

Through the Global Rivers Observatory, WHRC is advancing understanding of how climate change, deforestation, and other disturbances are impacting river chemistry and land-ocean linkages. This knowledge is vital for tracking the health of Earth’s watersheds and for predicting how Earth’s water and chemical cycles will change in the future. As the human population approaches 9 billion people over the coming decades, this understanding will be essential as vast numbers of people dependent on the services rivers provide struggle to adapt to rapidly changing conditions.

More details: here