Published in ERW, 8 Jul 2015
The discharge of freshwater into the oceans has a moderating effect on the world’s climate, limiting rises in sea-surface temperature and Indian-monsoon rainfall. That’s the suggestion of researchers in India, who reckon more attention ought to be paid to the role of river run-off in climate simulations.
Every year, rivers discharge about 36,000 km3 of freshwater into the world’s oceans. Although that’s only about one-tenth of the freshwater supplied to oceans from rain, the effect is significant. Freshwater is less dense than saltwater, and so causes some unusual mixing patterns, which in turn affect the air–sea interaction, wind and heat. […]
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