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1. River flow decline across the entire Arkansas River Basin in the 21st century

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.129253  

   Yang, Jia; Zou, Chris; Will, Rodney; Wagner, Kevin; Ouyang, Ying; King, Chad; Winrich, Abigail; Tian, Hanqin (March 2023, Journal of Hydrology)

   The Arkansas River and its tributaries provide critical water resources for agricultural irrigation, hydropower generation, and public water supply in the Arkansas River Basin (ARB). However, climate change and other environmental factors have imposed significant impacts on regional hydrological processes, resulting in widespread ecological and economic consequences. In this study, we projected future river flow patterns in the 21st century across the entire ARB under two climate and socio-economic change scenarios (i.e., SSP2-RCP45 and SSP5-RCP85) using the process-based Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model (DLEM). We designed “baseline simulations” (all driving factors were kept constant at the level circa 2000) and “environmental change simulations” (at least one driving factor changed over time during 2001–2099) to simulate the inter-annual variations of river flow and quantify the contributions of four driving factors (i.e., climate change, CO2 concentration, atmospheric nitrogen deposition, and land use change). Results showed that the Arkansas River flow in 2080–2099 would decrease by 12.1% in the SSP2-RCP45 and 27.9% in the SSP5-RCP85 compared to that during 2000–2019. River flow decline would occur from the beginning to the middle of this century in the SSP2-RCP45 and happen throughout the entire century in the SSP5-RCP85. All major rivers in the ARB would experience river flow decline with the largest percentage reduction in the western and southwestern ARB. Warming and drying climates would account for 77%–95% of the reduction. The rising CO2 concentration would exacerbate the decline through increasing foliage area and ecosystem evapotranspiration. This study provides insight into the spatial patterns of future changes in water availability in the ARB and the underlying mechanisms controlling these changes. This information is critical for designing watershed-specific management strategies to maintain regional water resource sustainability and mitigate the adverse impacts of climate changes on water availability. 

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2. Water Monitoring of the Choptank River and Pocomoke River, Maryland, USA

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/54fecf9652c2e4d93e92d64388e6c3eb  

   Ensign, Scott H; Kan, Jinjun (September 2024, Environmental Data Initiative)

   Water monitoring at four locations on the Choptank River and four locations on the Pocomoke River in Maryland, U.S.A., was conducted from 2021 through 2023. Funding and scientific rationale were provided by the National Science Foundation grant 2049073 (“Resolving Sediment Connectivity between Rivers and Estuaries by Tracking Particles with their Microbial Genetic Signature”). The monitoring locations were chosen to measure estuary dynamics from the tidal freshwater zone through the mesohaline estuary. Parameters measured included water temperature, water level, water conductivity (reported as specific conductivity), water turbidity, and water velocity. 

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3. The Ecology of River Ice

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JG006275  

   Thellman, Audrey; Jankowski, Kathi Jo; Hayden, Brian; Yang, Xiao; Dolan, Wayana; Smits, Adrianne P.; O'Sullivan, Antóin M. (September 2021, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences)

   null (Ed.)
4. Velocity-amplified microbial respiration rates in the lower Amazon River: Amazon River respiration

   https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10062  

   Ward, Nicholas D.; Sawakuchi, Henrique O.; Neu, Vania; Less, Diani F. S.; Valerio, Aline M.; Cunha, Alan C.; Kampel, Milton; Bianchi, Thomas S.; Krusche, Alex V.; Richey, Jeffrey E.; et al (February 2018, Limnology and Oceanography Letters)
5. Apatite (U‐Th)/He Thermochronometry Along the Sutlej River, NW India Himalaya: Pleistocene River Capture Events Accelerated River Anticline Development

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2025TC008983  

   Genge, M C; Adeoti, B; Webb, A_A G; Huang, Y; Wang, F; Wu, L; Colleps, C L; Singh, B P; Thiede, R C; McKenzie, N R; et al (October 2025, Tectonics)

   River capture events may create short‐term pulses of incision in orogenic settings, complicating the interpretation of tectonic and climatic influences on exhumation patterns. The Sutlej River in northwestern India offers a compelling case study, as recent exhumation has been linked primarily to tectonic and climatic factors, whereas the capture of the Zhada Basin has been identified at <1 Ma. This region also features active faults and a river anticline formed by rapid river incision. The integration of new (U‐Th)/He data, inverse modeling and a geomorphic analysis has revealed two recent episodes of rapid exhumation along the river anticline: (a) a 0.8–0.3 Ma pulse coinciding with the capture of the Zhada Basin, which is associated with a 2‐ to 3‐fold increase in exhumation rates in the river anticline region, and (b) a 2–1 Ma pulse linked to the potential capture of the Pare Chu River, another major tributary of the Sutlej River. Our findings suggest that these Pleistocene river capture events both led to increased exhumation downstream along the river anticline, a region susceptible to rapid exhumation via ongoing deformation and a warm weak crust. Thus, this study emphasizes how erosional perturbations, triggered by changes in drainage systems, can significantly impact topography, local exhumation patterns, and deformation dynamics during <1 Myr time periods. 

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