ASTWBD: Global Water Bodies and Elevation Database

Global coverage from 83°N to 83°S identifies water bodies larger than 0.2 square kilometers at a 1-arc-second (approximately 30-meter) resolution. The dataset classifies features into ocean, river, or lake categories and provides corrected elevation values for water surfaces. It was generated from ASTER satellite imagery acquired between March 2000 and November 2013 to accompany the ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model.

Use Cases

• Mapping global surface water extent based on the 0.2 sq km detection threshold.
• Correcting digital elevation models over water bodies using the provided flattened elevation values.
• Analyzing hydrological connectivity by differentiating between lake, river, and ocean features.
• Studying shoreline changes in high-latitude regions where sea ice effects have been manually removed.

Strengths

• Provides a specific global minimum mapping unit of 0.2 square kilometers.
• Includes manual correction methods for rivers and sea ice removal, suggesting quality control.
• Offers associated elevation data referenced to the WGS84/EGM96 geoid.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low; column names and row counts are unknown.
• There is a conflict in reported last-updated dates between 2013-11-30 and 2026-03-13.
• The dataset's temporal range ends in 2013, limiting analysis of recent changes.

Provenance

Source

Sensor Information Laboratory Corporation (SILC) for NASA.

Collection Method

Generated from ASTER Level 1A satellite scenes, with manual inspection and classification.

Time Range

March 1, 2000 to November 30, 2013.

Freshness

Last updated dates conflict: 2013-11-30 (nasa_earthdata) and 2026-03-13 (datagov).

Geography

Global, from 83°N to 83°S latitude.