Earth's surface covered by rivers and streams 45 pc higher than expected

Which part of the earth is covered by rivers and streams? The surface of rivers and streams in the world is about 45 percent higher than that estimated earlier, say scientists in a new study.

Study by US researchers made new calculations to find out what proportion of the earth is covered

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Texas A & M University in the United States used satellite images, field measurements and a statistical model in their studies. The higher calculations of rivers and streams have important implications for understanding carbon emissions.

"As we try to mitigate the effects of climate change, it is really important that we clearly understand where the carbon is. that we emit goes, and this requires us to accurately quantify the overall carbon cycle, "said Tamlin Pavelsky, Associate Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill in a PTI report.

" Our New Computation This Study Helps Scientists to better badess the amount of carbon dioxide that flows from rivers and streams into the atmosphere each year, "says Pavelsky

. This study differs from previous studies on rivers and watercourses based on theoretical extrapolations.

In this study, published in the journal Science, the research team was able to directly measure the world's smallest watercourses and largest rivers by field measurements and satellite imagery Then use a statistical model As part of the study, the researchers built the Global River Widths from Landsat database, which contains nearly 60 million measurements of river width in the world.

NASA will use data from this database. research to identify river segments during NASA's Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission to be launched in 2021. The mission will be the first satellite mission specifically focused on measuring rivers and lakes.

( With contributions from AP / PTI )