The GRDC "Major River Basins of the World" is a web application provided by the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC) to present the "Major River Basins of the World" data product. The "Major River Basins" and "Major River Networks" layers represent 520 river/lake basins considered “major” in basin size, or in their hydro-political importance or interest. This dataset was created for the generation of GRDC map products and will be updated from time to time whenever extensions are required by future GRDC projects. At present the dataset comprises the GIS layers of GRDC Major River Basins 2020, GRDC Major River Networks 2020 and GRDC Major Rivers 2007.
This dataset contains quality-controlled in situ river discharge observations used in the river discharge analysis of the 2024 edition of the State of Global Water Resources Report. The data include daily and monthly discharge values from 1833 stations in 25 countries covering the years 1991-2024. They were contributed by WMO Members through their National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) to the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC). The report, published annually by WMO, provides a comprehensive quantitative overview of global water resources, with a focus on hydrological variability and trends. It supports countries, decision makers and stakeholders in understanding the current state of global water resources, identifying hotspots and supporting effective water management strategies.
Large-sample datasets are essential in hydrological science to support modelling studies and global assessments. This dataset is an extension to Caravan, a global community dataset of meteorological forcing data, catchment attributes, and discharge data for catchments around the world (Kratzert et al. 20231). The extension includes a subset of those hydrological discharge data and station-based watersheds from the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC), which are covered by an open data policy (Attribution 4.0 International; CC BY 4.0). In total, the dataset covers stations from 5357 catchments and 25 countries worldwide with a time series record from 1950 – 2022. GRDC is an international data centre operating under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) at the German Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG). Established in 1988, it holds the most substantive collection of quality assured river discharge data worldwide. Primary providers of river discharge data and associated metadata are the National Hydrological and Hydro-Meteorological Services of WMO Member States. 1Kratzert, F., Nearing, G., Addor, N. et al. Caravan - A global community dataset for large-sample hydrology. Sci Data 10, 61 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-01975-w
The Global Terrestrial Network for River Discharge (GTN-R) is the river discharge component of the Global Terrestrial Network - Hydrology (GTN-H) to support the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) and the Hydrology and Water Resources Programme of the WMO (HWRP). The basic idea of the GTN-R project is to draw together the already available discharge data provided by the National Hydrological Services (NHS) and to redistribute it in a standardised way. Core component is the GCOS Baseline River Network of gauging stations located near the mouth of the world's major rivers. In cooperation with the Hydrological Services of the WMO Member States this network is continually being extended by confirmation of additional stations.GRDC contributes to the GTN-H by collection of discharge data. Access to GTN-R data follows GRDC's data policy of free and unrestricted but identified access and is limited to noncommercial applications. Use the GCOS/GTN-R stations catalogue to create your individual list of project stations for download via GRDC Data Portal.
The Watershed Boundaries of all GRDC Stations are generated on the basis of HydroSHEDS (Lehner et al., 2008) and the Multi-Error-Removed Improved-Terrain (MERIT) Hydro dataset (Yamazaki et al., 2019). It is updated as soon as changes in the metadata occur or new stations have to be implemented. The dataset is licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Source: Lehner, B., Verdin, K., and Jarvis, A.: New Global Hydrography Derived From Spaceborne Elevation Data, EOS, 89, 93-94, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008EO100001, 2008. Yamazaki, D., Ikeshima, D., Sosa, J., Bates, P. D., Allen, G. H., and Pavelsky, T. M.: MERIT Hydro: A High-Resolution Global Hydrography Map Based on Latest Topography Dataset, Water Resources Research, 55, 5053-5073, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019WR024873, 2019. The Watershed Boundaries of all GRDC Stations are generated on the basis of HydroSHEDS (Lehner et al., 2008) and the Multi-Error-Removed Improved-Terrain (MERIT) Hydro dataset (Yamazaki et al., 2019). It is updated as soon as changes in the metadata occur or new stations have to be implemented. The dataset is licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Source: Lehner, B., Verdin, K., and Jarvis, A.: New Global Hydrography Derived From Spaceborne Elevation Data, EOS, 89, 93-94, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008EO100001, 2008. Yamazaki, D., Ikeshima, D., Sosa, J., Bates, P. D., Allen, G. H., and Pavelsky, T. M.: MERIT Hydro: A High-Resolution Global Hydrography Map Based on Latest Topography Dataset, Water Resources Research, 55, 5053-5073, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019WR024873, 2019.
BALTEX (the Baltic Sea Experiment) was launched in 1992 as a Continental-scale Experiment (CSE) of the Global Energy and Water Exchanges Project (GEWEX) within the World Climate Research Program (WCRP). The research focus of BALTEX was primarily on the hydrological cycle and the exchange of energy between the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth. The study region of BALTEX is the Baltic Sea and its huge catchment region. In 2015, the BALTEX Hydrological Dataset moved from Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) to the GRDC in order to ensure sustainable operation and regular updates as an integral part of the Global Runoff Database. By release and on behalf of the National Hydrological Services, the former BALTEX stations and flow data are integrated in the Global Runoff Database.
The GRDC Freshwater Fluxes into the World’s Oceans is a web application provided by the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC) to present the Freshwater Fluxes into the World’s Oceans data product. Continental freshwater input into the oceans is computed by the GRDC at irregular intervals, most recently in December 2020 referencing the time period 1901–2016. Previous data sets prepared in 2004, 2009 and 2014 are integrated into the service.
The GRDC Data Portal is for web-based selection and download of river discharge data collected by GRDC on behalf of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Calibrate your hydrological model, evaluate model results, or validate remote sensing data with in-situ data.
National Hydrological Services have identified “climate sensitive” stations on request of the WMO Commission for Hydrology in order to assess the variability and trends in hydrological data associated with climate variability and change. GRDC has offered to integrate this dataset into the Global Runoff Database.
WMO Basins and Sub-Basins (WMOBB) is an ongoing GIS project of the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC). This dataset was created for the generation of GRDC map products and will be updated from time to time whenever extensions are required by future GRDC projects. At present the dataset comprises GIS layers of WMO Basins 2020 and WMO River Networks 2020.