Better data on river temperatures could be more critical than pollution as water quality pointer

An improved global understanding of river temperature could be more important than contamination in providing a strong marker for the effects of human activity, including climate change, according researchers in the UK and the US.

In a recent academic paper, researchers from the University of Birmingham and Indiana University argued we need a better understanding of the role played by humans on river water temperature. Co-lead author and UNESCO chair in Water Sciences at the University of Birmingham, Professor David Hannah, said: “More attention has been given to other water quality indicators, such as nutrients and contaminants. However, river temperature influences many of these factors.”

The researchers described river temperature as “the fundamental water quality measure that regulates physical, chemical and biological processes in flowing waters and, in turn, impacts ecosystems, human health, and industrial, domestic and recreational uses by people.” They have described the need for “a comprehensive bank of knowledge” of the impacts of temperature changes as potentially “critical for human survival in many areas of the globe.”

The researchers suggest a first step would be to create “a more complete and accessible river temperature archive, which draws all available data together, to highlight information gaps and underpin models for places and times for which we lack data.”