GloRiSe: Global River Sediment Composition from 1,683 Locations

2,828 sediment composition measurements from 1,683 global river locations form the Global River Sediments (GloRiSe) database. It includes major, minor, and trace elements, mineralogical data, and time-series for some sites, compiled by Gerrit Müller of Utrecht University. Each observation is complemented by metadata for geographic location, sampling date, and measurement details.

Use Cases

• Spatial statistical modeling of global sediment composition based on the globe-spanning extent of the data.
• Testing and validating Earth-system models using the provided elemental and mineralogical data.
• Assessing anthropogenic pollution in rivers by analyzing trace element concentrations mentioned in the description.
• Characterizing material transported to oceans and reservoirs using the time-series data for selected sites.
• Complementing local or regional sediment datasets with this global compilation for comparative analysis.

Strengths

• Contains 2,828 compositional measurements, providing a substantial observational basis.
• Samples from 1,683 distinct geographic locations offer a near-global spatial coverage.
• Includes multiple data types: major/minor/trace elements, mineralogical, petrographic, and some time-series data.
• Each observation is complemented by detailed metadata for grouping, selection, and interoperability.

Limitations

• Row count for the primary data table is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Utrecht University

Collection Method

Compilation of suspended and bed sediment measurements from various sources.

Geography

Global, with samples from 1,683 locations around the globe.