Surface-water level refers to the elevation or height of free water surfaces in rivers, lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, or other surface-water bodies relative to a defined vertical datum or local reference point. It is a fundamental hydrologic state variable controlling hydraulic gradients, flow directions, storage volume, and exchange with groundwater and the atmosphere. Surface-water level is monitored using gauges, pressure transducers, radar or ultrasonic sensors, and remote sensing, and is used to derive stage–discharge relationships, flood frequency statistics, and water-balance components. Temporal variability in surface-water level reflects the integrated effects of precipitation, evapotranspiration, inflows, outflows, regulation, and anthropogenic withdrawals.
Flooding in coastal communities is happening far more often than previously thought, according to a new study from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The study also found ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 2, 2025
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In a first, researchers from NASA and Virginia Tech have used satellite data to measure the height and speed of potentially hazardous flood waves traveling down U.S. rivers. The three waves they tracked were likely caused ...
Earth Sciences
May 21, 2025
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Forecasters are confident it's a particularly bad water year for the Colorado River, worrying some about a likely return to record low levels in reservoirs that are reminiscent of 2022.
Earth Sciences
May 12, 2025
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