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Hydrology

The dynamics of Earth's surface water

Nature volume 540, pages 348–349 (2016)Cite this article

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High-resolution satellite mapping of Earth's surface water during the past 32 years reveals changes in the planet's water systems, including the influence of natural cycles and human activities. See Letter p.418

Everyone appreciates that the water cycle can vary, and can cause floods and droughts at its extremes. On page 418, Pekel et al.1 map the full range of this variability, as evidenced by our rivers, lakes and wetlands, using more than 3 million satellite images collected over the past 32 years. This globally consistent analysis documents both natural water variability and humanity's major influence on Earth's water systems, and will provide a valuable baseline for observations of the effects of future climate change.

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Figure 1: Maps showing variability of surface water in the Ganges delta.

J.-F. Pekel et al./Ref. 1

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dai Yamazaki is in the Department of Integrated Climate Projection Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokohama, Kanagawa 237-0061, Japan.,

    Dai Yamazaki

  2. Mark A. Trigg is in the School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.,

    Mark A. Trigg

Authors
  1. Dai Yamazaki
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  2. Mark A. Trigg
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Correspondence to Dai Yamazaki or Mark A. Trigg.

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Yamazaki, D., Trigg, M. The dynamics of Earth's surface water. Nature 540, 348–349 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21100

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