Atmospheric Sciences & Global Change Division Rivers Run Right
Through It...The Model New river-routing model improves
simulations of water movement within the Earth's system The new
river-routing model can simulate how water makes it into
tributaries and the main river channel by way of runoff and
below-surface water you can’t see. The ability to simulate
water’s complex paths through the landscape is important to
understand how human use of water impacts Earth’s water cycle.
Enlarge Image. Results: A new river-routing model improves
computer simulations of the magnitude and timing of water flow
through the landscape and into the ocean, thanks to the work of
a research team led by Dr. Ruby Leung at Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory. Designed to work in tandem with land and
Earth systems models, this new tool is better at simulating
water flow at different scales than some widely used large-scale
routing models. The model also can simulate river dynamics,
including variations in depth and the velocity of