The Importance of Monitoring River Water Discharge

Abstract

River discharge time series, originally recorded to anticipate floods and water scarcity, later became indispensable to design hydroelectric dams. Presently, discharge monitoring aids in detecting climatic and environmental change, because the discharge and quality of river water are functions of many climatic, biological, geological, and topographic variables coexisting in the basin. Climate change is altering the atmospheric precipitation distribution pattern-both, in time and space-as well as the occurrence of extreme climatic events. It is important the global upgrading of river gauging networks to unveil hydrological trends and changing atmospheric patterns. In so doing, discharge monitoring stations–and the resulting time series-may be, as well, invaluable in revealing the role played by significant environmental variables.