The GEMS-GLORI world river discharge database, circulated by UNEP for review in 1996, lists 555 major rivers discharging to oceans. It contains up to 48 attributes per river, including major ions and nutrients in various forms, with about 10,000 individual data points compiled from 500 references by author Michel Meybeck.
Use Cases
- Modeling global riverine nutrient (C, N, P) fluxes based on dissolved and particulate concentration data.
- Analyzing relationships between river discharge, drainage area, and water quality attributes.
- Assessing global coverage gaps for specific water quality parameters like particulate nitrogen and phosphorus.
- Studying temporal trends in river chemistry where multiple periods of records are provided.
Strengths
- Includes 555 major rivers meeting specific discharge, area, sediment, or population criteria.
- Contains up to 48 attributes per river, including major ions and nutrients in dissolved, particulate, organic, and inorganic forms.
- Compiles about 10,000 individual data points from 500 references.
Limitations
- Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Global coverage for some organic and/or particulate forms of N and P is noted as low, around 25%.
Provenance
- Source
- Michel Meybeck, circulated by UNEP.
- Collection Method
- Compilation from scientific literature and references.
- Time Range
- Relevant periods of records are provided for many rivers, but a specific overall range is not stated.
- Freshness
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
- Geography
- Global coverage of major rivers discharging to oceans.