'Flying rivers' above South America form drainage networks resembling those on land

Written and edited by the WorldPing NewsdeskPublished Updated Original reporting: Phys.org
'Flying rivers' above South America form drainage networks resembling those on landWorldPing
Image via Phys.org.

What happened

Water does not flow only through rivers on the ground.

Vast quantities of water also move through the atmosphere, carried by winds from oceans and land before eventually falling as precipitation hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away.

Key facts

  • Reported by Phys.org and published Mon, 05 Oct 2026 16:00:01 UTC.

Why it matters

Research findings and mission results set the evidence base that policy, funding and later discoveries build on.

What to watch next

  • Peer review status and replication of the findings
  • Mission milestones and next scheduled attempt
  • Funding or policy decisions that follow

Coverage timeline

When each newsroom published on this story, oldest first — all times UTC.

  1. 'Flying rivers' above South America form drainage networks resembling those on land

  2. Why Great Plains rivers depend on wetlands as well as climate

Sources

The original report was published by Phys.org. WorldPing does not claim that reporting — this page summarises and contextualises it.

Read the full report at Phys.org

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