A new study reveals that roughly one out of three large American rivers have appeared to change color since 1984, with many of the bodies of water seeming to slowly turn yellow and green — and scientists tell Salon that this could mean some very bad things for human health.
Analyzing approximately 15.9 million satellite images taken over a period of more than three decades, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Pittsburgh and Colorado State University discovered that of the more than 108,000 kilometers (roughly 67,000 miles) of rivers at least 60 meters (197 feet) wide studied throughout the country, 56% appeared predominantly yellow and 38% appeared predominantly green. While rivers often change color based on the seasons and flow regimes, the scientists found that one-third of rivers had experienced long-term “significant color shifts” between 1984 and 2018. (If you want to see what has happened with your local river, there is a handy interactive map here.)
“One […]
I remember when I lived in Florida, the rivers put so many chemicals from farms into lake Okechobe that the whole lake became covered and killed the fish underneath the algae, along with polluting the water which meant much of the drinking water in south Florida had to be treated.