First satellite measurement of water volume in Amazon floodplain

ScienceDaily (2010-08-08) -- For the first time, scientists have been able to measure the amount of water that rises and falls annually in the Amazon River floodplain. The result -- 285 billion metric tons, or 285 cubic kilometers of water by volume -- sounds like a lot. That amount is over half the volume of Lake Erie, which is the world's 15th largest lake.