Swiss researchers recently conducted a study published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography, revealing that the Ruki River, located in Democratic Republic of Congo, is now classified as the darkest body of water in the world.
The water in the river, which is a tributary of the Congo, is so dark that, according to researchers, it is practically impossible to see the hand in front of you under the water.
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Compared to other large tropical rivers, Ruki can be considered the darkest of all dark water rivers on the planet.
The study, conducted by scientists at ETH Zurich in collaboration with experts from other institutions, states that the darkness of the Ruki River even exceeds that of the Negro River, in the Amazon region.
(Image: Matti Barthel/ETH Zurich/Reproduction)
The dark color of the water in the Ruki River originates from the high content of dissolved organic matter and the scarcity of sediment.
Such carbon-rich substances are transported to the river, mainly by rain, which falls on the decomposing vegetation of the forest, carrying it to the tributary.
The river tends to flood the forest during the rainy season, which can take weeks for the water level to return to normal. These factors combined contribute to its characteristic dark and practically opaque water.
(Image: Uwe Dedering/Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons/Reproduction)
In addition to the remarkable dark water, the Ruki River, about 1 km wide, presents another special feature in its watershed, which is four times the size of Switzerland.
The area is still covered in pristine primary rainforest. On the banks of the river, large peatlands contain significant amounts of dead and undecayed plant material, making them important carbon sinks.
Despite its uniqueness and impressive size, the Ruki River has never been the subject of scientific study.
Although the river's different water levels across seasons have been documented since the 1930s, no data on its chemical composition was available until this new study.
In 2019, Swiss researchers established a measuring station near the city of Mbandaka, a short distance from the confluence between the Ruki River and the Congo River.
Since then, they have carried out measurements of current flow and water level. water every two weeks to determine annual flow.
Water analyzes confirmed the initial visual observation: the Ruki River is one of the river systems richest in dissolved organic carbon in the world.
Its water contains four times more organic compounds than that of the Congo River and 1.5 times more than that of the Negro River.
Although the Ruki River basin represents only a twentieth of the entire Congo Basin, a fifth of the river's dissolved organic carbon originates from this tributary.
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