Continuous time-series data for water levels of large lakes and major rivers, updated operationally within 1.5 days of new satellite measurements. The Hydroweb project from the LEGOS laboratory provides this data, covering approximately 80 large lakes and 300 river measurement points operationally, with research series for about 150 lakes and 1,000 river points.
Use Cases
- Model lake volume changes over time using water level time-series data for climate impact studies.
- Analyze seasonal and interannual variability in river levels from the 1,000 measurement point time-series.
- Correlate water level data from multiple satellite passes with regional precipitation and evaporation records.
- Forecast water resource availability for human consumption and hydroelectric power using operational level updates.
Strengths
- Operational data updated within 1.5 days of satellite measurement availability.
- Covers approximately 150 large lakes and 1,000 measurement points along 20 major rivers in research series.
- Provides continuous, long-duration time-series for water bodies with surface areas over 100 km².
Limitations
- Data is limited to large water bodies (over 100 km²) and the world's 20 biggest rivers, excluding smaller systems.
- Specific row counts, geographic coordinates, and data completeness metrics for each time-series are unknown.
- Research measurement series are updated at irregular intervals based on laboratory processing progress.
Provenance
- Source
- Hydroweb project, LEGOS laboratory.
- Collection Method
- Satellite altimetry measurements from repetitive missions (e.g., 10, 17, or 35-day revisit cycles).
- Time Range
- Long-duration, continuous time-series; specific start and end dates are unknown.
- Freshness
- Operational series updated within 1.5 working days; research series updated at regular but unspecified intervals.
- Geography
- Global coverage of large lakes and major rivers.