Animation of the Mekong River - Tonle Sap flood pulse

Southeast Asia experiences dramatic swings in precipitation and river flows as a result of the Asian monsoon. Nowhere is this more dramatic than the Mekong River flowing through Cambodia and Vietnam. In Cambodia the mighty Mekong River winds its way across a vast flood plain. During the rainy season the flow of the Mekong increases so much that it reverses the flow of the Tonle Sap River increasing the size of the Tonle Sap Lake by 6 times or more. This animation shows the heart beat of the Mekong River, the annual flood pulse using data derived from Landsat satellites from 1990 to 2015. Some years are omitted due to cloud cover.

To view the animation on YouTube click HERE