University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas is a university that is part of the pulse of the water sector. Here we bring together everything it publishes on Smart Water Magazine: its news, its blogs and the events it takes part in.
Researchers test how stream characteristics impact microplastic retention
Microplastics, tiny plastic particles found in everyday products from face wash to toothpaste, are an emerging threat to health and ecology, prompting a research team to identify what keeps them trapped in stream ecosystems. Everyday actions like washing synthetic clothing and driving, which wears down tires, contribute to an accumulation of microplastics in environments from […]
Researchers identify previously unknown compound in drinking water
A team of researchers from the United States and Switzerland have reported the discovery of a previously unknown compound in chloraminated drinking water. Inorganic chloramines are commonly used to disinfect drinking water to safeguard public health from diseases like cholera and typhoid fever. It’s estimated that more than 113 million people in the United States […]
Barriers designed to prevent saltwater intrusion may worsen inland flooding
As Earth continues to warm, sea levels have risen at an accelerating rate – from 1.4 millimeters a year to 3.6 millimeters a year between 2000 and 2015. Flooding will inevitably worsen, particularly in low-lying coastal regions, where more than a billion people are estimated to live. Solutions are needed to protect homes, property and […]
New research provides a clearer picture of severe hydro hazards
Over the last two decades an estimated three billion people have been affected by water-related natural disasters such as droughts and floods. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of these hydro hazards, with some prognosticators estimating there will be upwards of $3.7 trillion in water-related damage over the next 30 years in the […]
New study examines historical drought and flooding on the Amazon River
Extreme floods and severe droughts on the Amazon River have occurred more frequently in the last 40 years. Eight of the 12 most extreme floods in the 121-year streamflow record at Manaus, located on the Negro River, a tributary of the Amazon River, have occurred in just the last 14 years. Natural climate variations, deforestation […]
Climate change is increasing frequency of fish mass die-offs
As the planet’s climate has gotten warmer, so has the prevalence of fish die-offs, or mass mortality events. These die-offs can have severe impacts on the function of ecosystems, imperil existing fish populations and reduce the global food supply. And the frequency of these events appears to be accelerating, with potentially dire consequences for the […]
Study explores how marsh sediment shapes and impacts river deltas
River deltas and their adjoining wetlands are being threatened by rising sea levels and decreased river sediment loads. Better understanding how coastlines along river deltas are created and sustained will be critical to preserving and even restoring them in the future. A recent paper led by alumna Kelly Sanks, a doctoral student in geosciences at […]
Researchers study historic Mississippi flow and impacts of river regulation
In “Atchafalaya,” John McPhee’s essay in the 1989 book The Control of Nature, the author chronicles efforts by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prevent the Atchafalaya River from changing the course of the Mississippi River where they diverge, due to the Atchafalaya’s steeper gradient and more direct route to the gulf. McPhee’s classic essay […]
Water on Mars not as widespread as previously thought, study finds
Water on Mars, in the form of brines, may not be as widespread as previously thought, according to a new study by researchers at the Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences. Researchers combined data on brine evaporation rates, collected through experiments at the center's Mars simulation chamber, with a global weather circulation model of the planet […]