Global hydro-environmental sub-basin and river reach characteristics at high spatial resolution

TLDR

HydroATLAS compiles high‑resolution hydro‑environmental data for every global watershed and river. Version 1.0 aggregates 56 variables into 281 attributes across six categories, reformatting global digital maps and accumulating them along the drainage network to link nested sub‑basins and river reaches at 15‑arc‑second resolution. The resulting BasinATLAS and RiverATLAS datasets provide standardized, topologically linked sub‑basin and river reach information that is compatible with HydroSHEDS and facilitates broad hydro‑ecological assessments.

Abstract

Abstract The HydroATLAS database provides a standardized compendium of descriptive hydro-environmental information for all watersheds and rivers of the world at high spatial resolution. Version 1.0 of HydroATLAS offers data for 56 variables, partitioned into 281 individual attributes and organized in six categories: hydrology; physiography; climate; land cover & use; soils & geology; and anthropogenic influences. HydroATLAS derives the hydro-environmental characteristics by aggregating and reformatting original data from well-established global digital maps, and by accumulating them along the drainage network from headwaters to ocean outlets. The attributes are linked to hierarchically nested sub-basins at multiple scales, as well as to individual river reaches, both extracted from the global HydroSHEDS database at 15 arc-second (~500 m) resolution. The sub-basin and river reach information is offered in two companion datasets: BasinATLAS and RiverATLAS. The standardized format of HydroATLAS ensures easy applicability while the inherent topological information supports basic network functionality such as identifying up- and downstream connections. HydroATLAS is fully compatible with other products of the overarching HydroSHEDS project enabling versatile hydro-ecological assessments for a broad user community.