EurekAlert!
Rivers and streams may look permanent, but their lengths can change dramatically with the seasons, according to a new study. It reports that stream networks in the United States expand up to five times their low-flow size during wet conditions. The findings offer the first large-scale insights into how water dynamically moves through landscapes and provide a framework for forecasting climate-driven changes in stream networks, particularly in response to increasing storminess. Traditionally regarded as static landscape features, stream networks exhibit significant seasonal and storm-driven fluctuations in their total wetted length. Click here to read the story.