Assessing placement bias of the global river gauge network

Corey Krabbenhoft; George Allen; Peirong Lin; Sarah E Godsey; Daniel Allen; Ryan Burrows; Amanda DelVecchia; Ken M. Fritz; Margaret Shanafield; Amy J. Burgin; Margaret Zimmer; Thibault Datry; Walter K. Dodds; C. Nathan Jones; Meryl Mimms; Catherin Franklin; John C. Hammond; Samuel Zipper; Adam S Ward; Katie H. Costigan; Hylke Beck; Julian D. Olden

doi:10.1038/s41893-022-00873-0

Assessing placement bias of the global river gauge network

Nature Sustainability

By: Corey Krabbenhoft, George Allen, Peirong Lin, Sarah E Godsey, Daniel Allen, Ryan Burrows, Amanda DelVecchia, Ken M. Fritz, Margaret Shanafield, Amy J. Burgin, Margaret Zimmer, Thibault Datry, Walter K. Dodds, C. Nathan Jones, Meryl Mimms, Catherin Franklin, John C. Hammond, Samuel Zipper, Adam S Ward, Katie H. Costigan, Hylke Beck, and Julian D. Olden

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00873-0

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Abstract

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.

Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Assessing placement bias of the global river gauge network
Series title	Nature Sustainability
DOI	10.1038/s41893-022-00873-0
Volume	5
Year Published	2022
Language	English
Publisher	Nature Publications
Contributing office(s)	Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center
Description	7 p.
First page	586
Last page	592
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page