NASA Hydroclimatology Project: Global River, Sahel Water, and US Climate Data

The NASA Hydroclimatology Project aggregates multiple hydrological and climate datasets. It includes monthly river discharge for 1,018 global stations (1807-1991), 250-m resolution surface water extent for the African Sahel (2003-2011), and monthly temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration estimates for 1,469 US watersheds (1951-1990). The data is derived from sources like UNESCO archives, MODIS satellite imagery, and the PRISM climate analysis system.

Use Cases

• Modeling long-term global river discharge trends based on the 1,018 station records.
• Analyzing surface water dynamics and drought vulnerability in the Sahel based on MODIS-derived water body estimates.
• Studying watershed-scale climate and water balance in the US based on the HCDN-derived temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration data.

Strengths

• Includes long-term records, with river discharge data spanning from 1807 to 1991.
• Provides spatially explicit data, including 250-meter resolution water body mapping for the Sahel.
• Integrates multiple data sources, including ground stations, satellite imagery, and climate models.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the original source archives.

Provenance

Source

Derived from published UNESCO archives, the Global Runoff Center, MODIS satellite imagery, and the PRISM climate analysis system.

Collection Method

Measurements were checked and aggregated from source archives; water bodies were identified by spectral analysis of MODIS vegetation indices.

Time Range

Varies by sub-dataset: 1807-1991, 2003-2011, and 1951-1990.

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

Global river stations, the African Sahel region (10-20 degrees N), and the conterminous United States.