Rivers are critical resources that affect everything from watersheds to agriculture to energy. But rivers, in turn, have been impacted by humans, often in the form of hydraulic infrastructure such as dams and wells.
A new project, Dynamic Atlas of Riverine Ecosystems and infrastructure (DARE), will create a global record that shows how river systems around the world have changed under human influence over the last 75 years.
Four international teams of researchers (including Cornell University) will receive funding from Schmidt Sciences over five years to advance the global understanding of freshwater availability through the Virtual Institute for Earth’s Water (VIEW). Their research will leverage AI and high-resolution data to build a first-of-its-kind “global water ledger”; a definitive account of the world’s freshwater resources to inform more effective, sustainable, and equitable management.
