University of Bristol - Water weight

A team of scientists has produced the first reliable estimate of water flow between the Amazon and its flood plains. While earlier researchers relied on occasional field trips to the vast area, the new project, involving academics from the University of Bristol, used satellites to record the weight, and hence the volume, of water resting on the Earth's surface. The conclusion, reported in the online journal Remote Sensing of Environment, was that 285km³ of water rise and fall in the Amazonian flood plains each year. The figure should prove helpful in tracking the impact of climate change and provide advance warning of floods.