Global River Topology (GRIT): Vector Hydrography at 30m Resolution

GRIT is a global river network representing tributary and distributary components, including multi-thread rivers, canals, and delta distributaries. It is the first global hydrography produced at 30m raster resolution, created by merging Landsat-based river masks with elevation-generated streams and using the FABDEM digital terrain model. The dataset, authored by Michel Wortmann at the University of Oxford, provides vector data with network topology in GeoPackage format.

Use Cases

• Modeling global river flow and drainage patterns based on the detailed network topology.
• Analyzing river morphology and distributary systems based on the inclusion of multi-thread rivers and canals.
• Integrating high-resolution hydrography into environmental models based on the 30m raster and vector data.
• Validating and improving other global hydrological datasets based on the use of the FABDEM terrain model.

Strengths

• Provides a global river network at 30m raster resolution, a first for global hydrography.
• Uses the FABDEM digital terrain model, which is described as showing greater accuracy than traditional SRTM derivatives.
• Includes both tributary and distributary components, such as multi-thread rivers and canals.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Excludes Antarctica and Greenland from its global coverage.

Provenance

Source

University of Oxford

Collection Method

Merged Landsat-based river mask (GRWL) with elevation-generated streams, vectorized, and assigned directionality using RivGraph.

Geography

Global (excluding Antarctica and Greenland)