Global River Fluxes of Carbon and Sediments to the Oceans

ISLSCP II provides global estimates of riverine carbon and sediment discharge to coastal ocean grid points. The dataset includes three spatial resolutions: original data at 2.5 x 2.0 degrees, and derived global maps at 0.5 and 1.0 degrees. This data supports modeling of land-ocean biogeochemical linkages and coastal sedimentation processes.

Use Cases

• Modeling global carbon budgets based on riverine export estimates
• Assessing coastal sedimentation and erosion from sediment discharge data
• Studying land-ocean biogeochemical linkages using gridded flux maps
• Calibrating Earth system models with river flux data at multiple resolutions

Strengths

• Provides data at three distinct spatial resolutions (0.5°, 1.0°, and 2.5° x 2.0°) for flexibility in analysis
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA Earthdata indicates established use and validation
• Produced by the ISLSCP II staff under NASA, suggesting a standardized processing methodology

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts exist: last updated dates range from 1998-12-31 to 2026-04-10 across sources
• Column names and row counts are unknown, limiting understanding of data structure and granularity
• License is ambiguously specified as 'other-license-specified' without clear terms

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), ISLSCP II staff

Collection Method

Estimates derived for riverine export of carbon and sediments, likely from hydrological and biogeochemical models.

Freshness

2026-04-10 02:04:49.881433 (most recent update from Data.gov, but conflicts with 1998 date from NASA Earthdata)

Geography

Global coastal grid points receiving river inputs