Assessing placement bias of the global river gauge network

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dc.contributor.authorKrabbenhoft, Corey A.en
dc.contributor.authorAllen, George H.en
dc.contributor.authorLin, Peirongen
dc.contributor.authorGodsey, Sarah E.en
dc.contributor.authorAllen, Daniel C.en
dc.contributor.authorBurrows, Ryan M.en
dc.contributor.authorDelVecchia, Amanda G.en
dc.contributor.authorFritz, Ken M.en
dc.contributor.authorShanafield, Margareten
dc.contributor.authorBurgin, Amy J.en
dc.contributor.authorZimmer, Margaret A.en
dc.contributor.authorDatry, Thibaulten
dc.contributor.authorDodds, Walter K.en
dc.contributor.authorJones, C. Nathanen
dc.contributor.authorMims, Meryl C.en
dc.contributor.authorFranklin, Catherinen
dc.contributor.authorHammond, John C.en
dc.contributor.authorZipper, Samen
dc.contributor.authorWard, Adam S.en
dc.contributor.authorCostigan, Katie H.en
dc.contributor.authorBeck, Hylke E.en
dc.contributor.authorOlden, Julian D.en
dc.date.accessioned2022-09-20T18:04:59Zen
dc.date.available2022-09-20T18:04:59Zen
dc.date.issued2022-07en
dc.description.abstractHydrologic data collected from river gauges inform critical decisions for allocating water resources, conserving ecosystems and predicting the occurrence of droughts and floods. The current global river gauge network is biased towards large, perennial rivers, and strategic adaptations are needed to capture the full scope of rivers on Earth. Knowing where and when rivers flow is paramount to managing freshwater ecosystems. Yet stream gauging stations are distributed sparsely across rivers globally and may not capture the diversity of fluvial network properties and anthropogenic influences. Here we evaluate the placement bias of a global stream gauge dataset on its representation of socioecological, hydrologic, climatic and physiographic diversity of rivers. We find that gauges are located disproportionally in large, perennial rivers draining more human-occupied watersheds. Gauges are sparsely distributed in protected areas and rivers characterized by non-perennial flow regimes, both of which are critical to freshwater conservation and water security concerns. Disparities between the geography of the global gauging network and the broad diversity of streams and rivers weakens our ability to understand critical hydrologic processes and make informed water-management and policy decisions. Our findings underscore the need to address current gauge placement biases by investing in and prioritizing the installation of new gauging stations, embracing alternative water-monitoring strategies, advancing innovation in hydrologic modelling, and increasing accessibility of local and regional gauging data to support human responses to water challenges, both today and in the future.en
dc.description.adminPublic domain – authored by a U.S. government employeeen
dc.description.notesUS National Science Foundation(National Science Foundation (NSF))en
dc.description.sponsorshipUS National Science Foundation [DEB-1754389, 2207232]en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00873-0en
dc.identifier.issn2398-9629en
dc.identifier.issue7en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/111936en
dc.identifier.volume5en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherNature Portfolioen
dc.rightsPublic Domain (U.S.)en
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/en
dc.subjectfresh-wateren
dc.subjectheadwater streamsen
dc.subjectclimate-changeen
dc.subjectbiodiversityen
dc.subjecttrackingen
dc.subjectmodelen
dc.subjectscaleen
dc.titleAssessing placement bias of the global river gauge networken
dc.title.serialNature Sustainabilityen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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