Humans accidentally created new rivers in Europe

    Press/Media: Research

    Description

    Meandering rivers that flow through and transport sediment to deltas often split off from their main courses and flow in different directions. This process, called avulsion, happens naturally when a river overflows its banks and the floodwaters carve out a new course for the river to follow. But humans can also trigger avulsions by changing the shape of the landscape, and in a new study, scientists report that people have been doing this for a very long time.

    Period15 Feb 2019

    Media coverage

    1

    Media coverage

    • TitleHumans accidentally created new rivers in Europe
      Degree of recognitionInternational
      Media name/outletEarth
      Media typePrint
      Country/TerritoryNetherlands
      Date15/02/19
      DescriptionMeandering rivers that flow through and transport sediment to deltas often split off from their main courses and flow in different directions. This process, called avulsion, happens naturally when a river overflows its banks and the floodwaters carve out a new course for the river to follow. But humans can also trigger avulsions by changing the shape of the landscape, and in a new study, scientists report that people have been doing this for a very long time.
      Producer/AuthorLucas Joel
      URLhttps://www.earthmagazine.org/article/humans-accidentally-created-new-rivers-europe
      PersonsHarm Jan Pierik, Esther Stouthamer, Tim Schuring, Kim Cohen
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    Keywords

    • geology
    • human history
    • agriculture
    • geomorphology
    • river

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