Runoff, in the context of environmental and Earth system topics, refers to the portion of precipitation, snowmelt, or irrigation water that does not infiltrate into the soil or evaporate but instead flows over the land surface or through shallow subsurface pathways to streams, rivers, lakes, or coastal waters. It is a central component of the hydrological cycle, governed by factors such as soil permeability, land cover, topography, antecedent moisture, and rainfall intensity. Runoff mediates fluxes of sediments, nutrients, pollutants, and dissolved organic and inorganic constituents, strongly influencing watershed biogeochemistry, aquatic ecosystem function, flood regimes, and water resource availability.
Arctic rivers wind through remote tundra and boreal forests, freezing solid in winter and surging each spring with snowmelt, eventually emptying into the ocean. Runoff—water that does not soak into the ground but instead ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 23, 2026
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A new study from the University of British Columbia has found that artificial turf fields across Metro Vancouver leach 6PPD-quinone, a chemical known to kill coho salmon, into municipal stormwater systems—and the contamination ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 18, 2026
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The presence of small plastic pellets on the beaches of Donostia and Orio has drawn attention to a little-studied source of pollution: leakage of industrial microplastics that reach the sea through stormwater drainage networks. ...
Environment
Mar 13, 2026
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A research team led by Professor Jonghun Kam from POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) has revealed that typhoons are a critical factor in mitigating global droughts by simulating a scenario where typhoon-induced ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 11, 2026
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12
For years, the Prairie Pothole Region has bothered me in a very specific way. On a map, it looks like a normal landscape: fields, gentle slopes, small streams. But hydrologically, it behaves like something else entirely. ...
Atmospheric rivers carry unfathomable amounts of water across the sky, bringing moisture to drought-stricken regions like the Western U.S. But whether a particular incoming atmospheric river storm will result in disastrous ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 2, 2026
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Beaver dams are critical to river health and a source of biodiversity. They create wetlands, slow water and improve water quality. They also reduce flood peaks and delay runoff. But beaver dams are often blamed when extreme ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 24, 2026
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Pesticides can harm aquatic ecosystems and human health, so scientists need to understand how they move from farm fields into streams. A management tool commonly implemented is riparian buffers—strips of vegetation, like ...
Environment
Feb 24, 2026
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A key question in any discussion about climate is "How much rain fell?" But perhaps there is an even more important one. Like any household budget, the global water economy is based on "income," that is, water entering the ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 23, 2026
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Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) have used long-term data from the Spree River to discover that aquatic plants can compensate for declining water levels in a drier climate. ...
Environment
Feb 22, 2026
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