RivDIS: Global Monthly River Discharge, 1807-1991

1,018 monitoring stations worldwide provide monthly river discharge averages spanning nearly two centuries, from 1807 to 1991. Data originates from UNESCO archives and was cross-checked with the Global Runoff Center, offering a foundational record for hydrological studies. The mean station record length is 21.5 years, though coverage varies significantly by location.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term trends in freshwater flux to oceans based on global station coverage
• Calibrating hydrological or climate models using historical monthly discharge measurements
• Studying inter-annual variability and seasonality of river flows across different basins
• Assessing changes in surface water availability over a 184-year period

Strengths

• Broad spatial coverage with data from 1,018 stations globally
• Long temporal range covering 184 years (1807-1991)
• Data quality is enhanced by cross-verification between UNESCO archives and the Global Runoff Center

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: column names and exact row counts are unknown
• Conflicting last-update dates: one source lists 1991, another lists a future date (2026), indicating potential metadata errors
• Station record length is highly variable, with a mean of only 21.5 years

Provenance

Source

UNESCO archives, cross-checked with the Global Runoff Center via the U.S. National Geophysical Data Center

Collection Method

Monthly averaged discharge measurements derived from published archives

Time Range

1807 to 1991

Freshness

1991-09-30 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Global