Environmental Science
How Snowmelt Timing Alters Downstream River Regimes
Quick fact
In the western U.S., snowmelt provides up to 75% of annual streamflow, and climate warming has already caused peak spring melt to occur up to 3 weeks earlier in some basins.
Why this is interesting
You've probably seen a river swell after a summer thunderstorm, but in snow-fed valleys, the biggest flood of the year often arrives on a sunny spring day when it hasn't rained in weeks. Why?