Historically redlined neighborhoods in 202 American cities experience higher flood exposure than higher-graded neighborhoods. People often assume flood risk depends purely on proximity to rivers or coastlines, but severe flooding strikes these zones regardless of their distance from open water. Floodwaters pool and swamp streets because aging, inadequate drainage infrastructure fails to divert heavy rainfall away from homes.
Hydrology
Rock, air, water, climate, ecosystems, and the systems of a changing planet.
Ocean tides travel across more than 175,000 kilometers of river channels worldwide. While most people expect tides to remain confined to sea coasts, ocean pulses climb far inland through river mouths. Rising sea swells force water upstream against downhill river flows, raising and lowering channel surfaces twice each day.
Three-dimensional tree canopy depth and wind dynamics govern how forests capture rainfall across the globe. Standard earth system models assumed that flat leaf surface area alone determined how much water canopies catch. Instead, falling rain strikes the full vertical depth and width of forest crowns while moving air circulates moisture through the branches.