Focus

Rivers

Focus
October 2012 Volume 5 No 10 pp675-754

(Image credited to iStockphoto / Thinkstock)

Rivers connect the highest mountains with the ocean's depth, carving up the land as they flow. En route, they transport and transform large quantities of terrestrial material, and exchange elements with the atmosphere, land and sea. In this web focus we present opinion pieces and research articles that examine the topographic, biogeochemical and cultural significance of rivers.

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Editorial

Rivers in transition p675

doi:10.1038/ngeo1606

Rivers run through nearly every landscape on Earth. Ascertaining the influence of this flux on carbon dynamics is necessary for a full understanding of the climate system.

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Commentary

An expanded role for river networks pp678-679

Jonathan P. Benstead & David S. Leigh

doi:10.1038/ngeo1593

Estimates of stream and river area have relied on observations at coarse resolution. Consideration of the smallest and most dynamic streams could reveal a greater role for river networks in global biogeochemical cycling than previously thought.

Full text | PDF (424 KB)

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Books & Arts

Tributaries through time p681

Anna Armstrong

doi:10.1038/ngeo1598

Anna Armstrong reviews Rivers: A Very Short Introduction by Nick Middleton

Full text | PDF (82 KB)

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News & Views

Biogeochemistry: Riverine carbon unravelled p684

Anna Armstrong

doi:10.1038/ngeo1599

Full text | PDF (389 KB)

Geomorphology: Tectonically twisted rivers pp688-689

Eric Kirby

doi:10.1038/ngeo1594

Tracking diffuse, shearing deformation of continents is difficult. Numerical modelling of drainage evolution in the Southern Alps, New Zealand, suggests that rivers can act as dynamic markers of tectonic deformation over geological timescales.

Full text | PDF (393 KB)

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Letters

Biogeochemically diverse organic matter in Alpine glaciers and its downstream fate pp710-714

Gabriel A. Singer, Christina Fasching, Linda Wilhelm, Jutta Niggemann, Peter Steier, Thorsten Dittmar & Tom J. Battin

doi:10.1038/ngeo1581

Glaciers store and transform organic carbon, which, on release, could support downstream microbial life. An analysis of 26 glaciers in the European Alps suggests that a significant fraction of glacier organic matter is available for microbial consumption.

Firs paragraph | Full text | PDF (776 KB)

Dependence of riverine nitrous oxide emissions on dissolved oxygen levels pp715-718

Madeline S. Rosamond, Simon J. Thuss & Sherry L. Schiff

doi:10.1038/ngeo1556

Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas that destroys stratospheric ozone. Measurements of nitrous oxide emissions from a Canadian river suggest that future increases in nitrate export to rivers will not necessarily lead to higher nitrous oxide emissions, but more widespread hypoxia most likely will.

First paragraph | Full text | PDF (358 KB)

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Article

River drainage patterns in the New Zealand Alps primarily controlled by plate tectonic strain pp744-748

Sébastien Castelltort, Liran Goren, Sean D. Willett, Jean-Daniel Champagnac, Frédéric Herman & Jean Braun

doi:10.1038/ngeo1582

The persistence of dendritic drainage patterns implies that rivers reorganize after a tectonic perturbation, preserving no long-term record of that tectonic event. Numerical simulations of the evolution of drainage patterns in the Southern Alps, New Zealand, however, reveal rivers that resist reorganization and thus preserve a record of plate tectonic strain over 10 million years.

Abstract | Full text | PDF (2,249 KB)

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From the archives

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Commentary

The boundless carbon cycle

Tom J. Battin, Sebastiaan Luyssaert, Louis A. Kaplan, Anthony K. Aufdenkampe, Andreas Richter & Lars J. Tranvik

doi:10.1038/ngeo618

The terrestrial biosphere is assumed to take up most of the carbon on land. However, it is becoming clear that inland waters process large amounts of organic carbon and must be considered in strategies to mitigate climate change.

Full text | PDF (607 KB)

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Books & Arts

Drinking up the Amazon

Anna Armstrong

doi:10.1038/ngeo624

Anna Armstrong reviews Big River Man by John Maringouin

Full text | PDF (194 KB)

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News & Views

Earthquake hazards: Rivers, rifts and ruptures

John A. Hole

doi:10.1038/ngeo1198

The southern San Andreas fault is due for a large earthquake. Seismic images of sediments deposited in an ancient lake overlying the southern end of the fault indicate that episodic flooding may have triggered earthquakes in the past.

Full text | PDF (249 KB)

Geomorphology: Co-evolution of rivers and plants

Chris Paola

doi:10.1038/ngeo1247

River systems have changed through time; the sinuous, stable channels common today developed relatively late in Earth's history. The rock record suggests that a specific type of fixed-channel river system arose after the expansion of arborescence.

Full text | PDF (383 KB)

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Progress Article

Sinking deltas due to human activities

James P. M. Syvitski, Albert J. Kettner, Irina Overeem, Eric W. H. Hutton, Mark T. Hannon, G. Robert Brakenridge, John Day, Charles Vörösmarty, Yoshiki Saito, Liviu Giosan & Robert J. Nicholls

doi:10.1038/ngeo629

Many of the world's deltas are densely populated and intensively farmed. An assessment of recent publications indicates that the majority of these deltas have been subject to intense flooding over the past decade, and that this threat will grow as global sea-level rises and as the deltas subside.

Abstract | Full text | PDF (917 KB)

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Letters

Riverine organic matter and nutrients in southeast Alaska affected by glacial coverage

Eran Hood & Durelle Scott

doi:10.1038/ngeo280

Dissolved organic matter and nutrients from high-latitude coastal watersheds stimulate microbial activity and primary productivity in near-shore ecosystems. A survey of southeast Alaskan watersheds suggests that the extent of glacial coverage may control the release of these nutrients to rivers and ultimately the oceans.

First paragraph | Full text | PDF (753 KB)

Significant efflux of carbon dioxide from streams and rivers in the United States

David Butman & Peter A. Raymond

doi:10.1038/ngeo1294

Current estimates of carbon dioxide evasion from inland waters are based on incomplete spatial coverage. Streams and rivers in the United States release 97 Tg of carbon to the atmosphere each year, according to an analysis of chemical and morphological data.

First paragraph | Full text | PDF (496 KB)

Impact of transient groundwater storage on the discharge of Himalayan rivers

Christoff Andermann, Laurent Longuevergne, Stéphane Bonnet, Alain Crave, Philippe Davy & Richard Gloaguen

doi:10.1038/ngeo1356

In the course of the transfer of precipitation into rivers, water is temporarily stored in reservoirs with different residence times. Analyses of precipitation and discharge records from Nepal suggest that in addition to snow and glacier melt and evapotranspiration, groundwater storage in a fractured basement aquifer also affects the annual discharge cycle of Himalayan rivers.

First paragraph | Full text | PDF (1,592 KB)

Landslide erosion coupled to tectonics and river incision

Isaac J. Larsen & David R. Montgomery

doi:10.1038/ngeo1479

The steep topography of mountain landscapes arises from interactions between tectonic rock uplift, valley incision and landslide erosion on hillslopes. An analysis of more than 15,000 landslides in the eastern Himalaya, mapped from satellite images, shows that steep uplands primarily respond to uplift and river incision by increases in landslide erosion rates rather than by steepened hillslope angles.

First paragraph | Full text | PDF (7,464 KB)

Mitigating land loss in coastal Louisiana by controlled diversion of Mississippi River sand

Jeffrey A. Nittrouer, James L. Best, Christopher Brantley, Ronald W. Cash, Matthew Czapiga, Praveen Kumar & Gary Parker

doi:10.1038/ngeo1525

The Bonnet Carré Spillway diverts floodwaters from the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain, and was opened for 42 days during the 2011 flood. According to measurements of the newly deposited sediments, at least 31–46% of the river's sand load was diverted into the spillway at this time, suggesting that such diversions can help mitigate coastal wetland loss.

First paragraph | Full text | PDF (647 KB)

Continuous flux of dissolved black carbon from a vanished tropical forest biome

Thorsten Dittmar, Carlos Eduardo de Rezende, Marcus Manecki, Jutta Niggemann, Alvaro Ramon Coelho Ovalle, Aron Stubbins & Marcelo Correa Bernardes

doi:10.1038/ngeo1541

Before it was destroyed by slash and burn practices, Brazil's Atlantic Forest was one of the largest tropical forest biomes on Earth. Measurements from a river draining the region suggest that significant quantities of black carbon generated by the burning continue to be exported from the former forest.

First paragraph | Full text | PDF (522 KB)

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Article

Riverine source of Arctic Ocean mercury inferred from atmospheric observations

Jenny A. Fisher, Daniel J. Jacob, Anne L. Soerensen, Helen M. Amos, Alexandra Steffen & Elsie M. Sunderland

doi:10.1038/ngeo1478

Human activities, including industry and mining, have increased inorganic mercury deposition in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Model simulations indicate that circumpolar rivers deliver large quantities of mercury to the Arctic Ocean during summer.

Abstract | Full text | PDF (301 KB)

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