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Water

The Claudio Aqueduct was built in the 1st century along the Appian Way in Rome.

Anthropocene

Ancient Roman Water Networks Made the Empire Vulnerable

A model of ancient water movement shows how trade practices might affect today’s urban centers as the climate changes

An aerial view of the lower portion of the Colorado River shows the leading edge of the water pulse flow on May 12, before it connected with the sea.

Anthropocene

The Colorado River Delta Turned Green After a Historic Water Pulse

The experimental flow briefly restored the ancient waterway and may have created new habitat for birds

New Research

California’s Ongoing Drought Is Its Worst in 1,200 Years

Tree ring records unveil the severity of California’s drought

Ariel view of the Hoover Dam captured in 1967

New Research

Americans Are Using Less Water Than We Did in 1970

Peak water was decades ago

Cool Finds

One Idea to Get to Mars: Fill the Walls of a Spaceship With Water

The insulation from radiation would also be drinkable

Cool Finds

India Once Released 25,000 Flesh-Eating Turtles Into the Ganges

A plan to clean up corpses failed due to lack of planning

A new, zero-power screening method might make testing for lead and other pollutants easier than ever.

Drop This Capsule Into a Stream and It Will Screen For Pollution

Researchers have developed a sensor (no batteries required) that creates a barcode indicating the amount of pollutants and their whereabouts in water

Crop irrigation in arid regions, such as California’s San Joaquin Valley, can lead to overly salty soils.

Anthropocene

Earth’s Soil Is Getting Too Salty for Crops to Grow

Buildup of salts on irrigated land has already degraded an area the size of France and is causing $27.3 billion annually in lost crops

ISIS briefly controlled the Mosul Dam in Iraq over the summer.

Trending Today

ISIS Is Cutting Off Water to Uncooperative Villages

In parched Syria and Iraq, water is a weapon

The Aral Sea as of August 19, 2014. The black outline shows the lake's extent in 1960.

Trending Today

The Aral Sea Is Pretty Much Gone

The fourth largest lake in the world is less than a tenth of its former size

The Namib desert beetle gathers water from fog that condenses on its bumpy back—which inspired one company to design a self-filling water bottle.

Five Wild Ways to Get a Drink in the Desert

The moisture farmers of Tatooine could take a few tips from these projects for harvesting water out of thin air

New Research

Why We Shouldn’t Worry About Growing Plants With Recycled Water

Trace amounts of common pharmaceuticals show up in crops grown with recycled water, but not as much as you’d think

New Research

New Study: Blame Defective Wells for Fracking Leaks

Fixing shoddy wells could mean making fracking safer for the environment

Rescue workers look through the ruins left by the August 3, 2014 earthquake.

New Research

Deadly Chinese Earthquake May Have Been Man-Made

More than 600 people died in the August 3 Yunnan earthquake

Cool Finds

Napa Earthquake Turned Dry Creeks Wet Again

“Miracle water” wets some of California’s dried streams

People take pictures of water gushing from the reservoir of China’s Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydropower station in the world.

Anthropocene

Seven Unexpected Ways We Can Get Energy From Water

It’s not all about giant dams—H2O is a surprisingly common and versatile tool for meeting the world’s energy needs

Annecy is known as the Venice of Savoie, a region in France.

10 Historic Canal Towns to Visit That Aren’t Venice

Venice might be the most famous town to feature picturesque waterways, but beautiful canals can be found all over the globe

The Glines Canyon Dam on the Elwha River, shown here in 2012

Trending Today

Dams Removed On Washington State River

The removal of dams on the Elwha river is the largest dam removal to take place

California’s exceptional drought has exposed the bottom of Big Bear Lake.

New Research

California’s Record Drought Is Making Earth’s Surface Rise

Lifting land shows that the U.S. West is now missing some 62 trillion gallons of water

The full moon is seen near Earth's horizon from the International Space Station.

Earth Is Making the Moon All Warm and Soft on the Inside

A new model boosts the notion that a layer of rock near the moon’s core is squishy and perhaps partially melted

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