Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Science

'Flying rivers' above South America form drainage networks resembling those on land

Water does not flow only through rivers on the ground. Vast quantities of water also move through the atmosphere, carried by winds from oceans and land before eventually falling as precipitation hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away. These persistent pathways of atmospheric moisture are ofte...

'Flying rivers' above South America form drainage networks resembling those on land
Image: Phys.org
Water does not flow only through rivers on the ground. Vast quantities of water also move through the atmosphere, carried by winds from oceans and land before eventually falling as precipitation hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away. These persistent pathways of atmospheric moisture are often referred to as "aerial rivers" or "flying rivers."

Originally published at Phys.org

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