Researchers report lower surface water body area but greater interannual variability in surface water body area in the western half of the contiguous United States than in the eastern half during 1984-2016; the study also finds that surface water body areas decreased in the water-poor Southwest and Northwest US and increased in the water-rich Southeast US and far north Great Plains, exacerbating water resource gaps, according to the authors.
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Article #17-19275: "Divergent trends of open-surface water body area in the contiguous United States from 1984 to 2016," by Zhenhua Zou et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Xiangming Xiao, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK; tel: 603-560-5648; e-mail: xiangming.xiao@ou.edu
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences