Rivers Heating Up With Warming

[n2doc]

Twenty major U.S. streams and rivers have warmed significantly over the last few decades, according to new research.

By Emily Sohn | Mon Apr 12, 2010 10:06 AM ET

Along with warmer air and warmer oceans, rivers also seem to be heating up with global warming. Across the United States, a new study found, water temperatures in some rivers have risen by more than 3 degrees Celsius in the last few decades.

Warmer river conditions could threaten both the biodiversity of waterways and the livelihood of people who drink out of them and live near them, especially in cities where heat-island effects accelerate warming.

"Even modest changes in temperature can have big biological effects," said lead author Sujay Kaushal, an ecologist at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in Solomons.

"We're seeing the fastest rates of temperature increase in the most highly urbanized areas," he added. "That leads us to believe it's a one-two punch of global warming and development."

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http://news.discovery.com/earth/rivers-warming-cities-global-warming.html