river

A historic drought affecting Italy's largest river has brought a World War II-era shipwreck to light.The Po River runs 405 miles (651.8 km) from the Cottian Alps to empty into the Adriatic Sea. It's currently facing its worst drought in 70 years, which has caused a decades-old sunken ship to resurface.  The Zibello, a 160-foot (48.8-meter) barge that transported wood in World War II and sank in 1943, is usually hidden beneath the Po's waters, the Associated Press reports. Now, the river's water levels are so low that the…

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain As the West endures another year of unrelenting drought worsened by climate change, the Colorado River's reservoirs have declined so low that major water cuts will be necessary next year to reduce risks of supplies reaching perilously low levels, a top federal water official said Tuesday. …

A relative elevation map of the Susitna River in Alaska, one of the 30 rivers that were mapped as part of the study. Credit: Tian Dong Long after a river has dried up, its channel belt lives on. …

You’re History The world of River City Saga: Three Kingdoms is about to get a little more dangerous, as publisher Arc System Works and developer APlus Games have revealed that River City Girls‘ inimitable schoolgirl sluggers, Kyoko and Misako, will be making their presence felt in the upcoming historical brawler. As we have previously reported, River City Saga: Three Kingdoms is a BARF-tastic take on the ancient Chinese fable of “Sangokushi,” perhaps better known to westerners as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The…

CLIMATEWIRE | The next frontier for renewable energy may be found in underwater currents. The Department of Energy is looking to tap that resource through its funding of 11 projects designed to harness the power of moving water in rivers and ocean tidal currents. The long-term goal is to have sources of renewable energy that can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, said Mario Garcia-Sanz, the program’s director. “That puts this technology in a very good position with other renewables,” he said in an interview.…

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A black canister with yellow filter inside—resembling a cross between a trash can and big pool skimmer—was dunked in the Schuylkill River at Bartram's Garden park in Philadelphia and emptied daily from May to June to see what it would catch. …

The Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam before you arrive at Lees Ferry. A new study has found that the Colorado River experienced a severe drought impacting the upper Colorado River Basin in the second century. Credit: Bureau of Reclamation/Alexander Stephens The drought currently impacting the upper Colorado River Basin is extremely severe. A new study from federal government and university scientists led by the Bureau of…

The archaeological site of Kemune in the dried-up area of the Mosul reservoir. Credit: Universities of Freiburg and Tübingen, KAODrought Reveals 3400-Year-Old Urban Center of the Mitanni EmpireThe Kingdom of Mitanni, also known as Hurri to the Hittites, Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat to the Assyrians, and Maryannu, Nahrin or Mitanni to Egyptians, was a powerful nation around the 16th century BC that stretched over portions of present-day Syria, Iraq, and Turkey.Although it was believed to be a substantial regional power for a…

The Mosul Dam along the Tigris river, where the ancient city was discovered. Photo: ZAID AL-OBEIDI/AFP (Getty Images)An ongoing drought in Iraq revealed a sunken Bronze Age city.In an effort to stop crops in the area from wilting through months of drought and regional water shortages, locals have drained the Mosul Dam since December, and the receding water has uncovered the ancient structures along the river. According to a University of Tübingen release—which contains several fascinating photos of the site—the city…

An overview of the study areas, applied approaches, and results of the reservoir storage. Credit: SUTD China's dams along the Upper Mekong, or Lancang, are often blamed as the main cause of recent droughts in the downstream regions. Yet, it is challenging to corroborate these claims, since China has not been releasing detailed data on how its big dams in the Lancang are operated. Using data from satellite images and…