# Multi-tool Dataset on Northern Eurasian Riverbank Migration (NERM)

**DOI:** [10.5281/zenodo.11072920](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11072920)

## Description
This dataset provides comprehensive measurements of riverbank migration and channel erosion across Northern Eurasian river systems. 
It combines field observations, remote sensing analyses (Landsat, Keyhole), and geospatial modeling to quantify fluvial dynamics in permafrost-affected regions. 


## Key Features
- **Spatial Coverage:** 250+ rivers across Northern Eurasia (Baltic, Arctic, Pacific, Caspian basins) 
- **Temporal Coverage:** 60-year span (varying intervals per river)
- **Site Density:** 626,772 channel sites сovering >140,000 km of rivers
- **Parameters:** Bank retreat rates, erosion areas/volumes, hydrologic, permafrost and climatic metrics
- **Methods:** Multi-tool approach combining field surveys, satellite imagery analysis, and GIS modeling

## River Systems Coverage
The dataset encompasses rivers from three major regions with diverse characteristics:

### 1. European Rivers
- **Vistula Basin:** Middle reaches (ID 17)
- **Volga Basin:** Setun, Ramenka, Moscow region rivers, Kudma basin, Volgograd section, Oka (IDs 13,14,18,19,25)
- **Ural Basin:** Ural and Sakmara rivers (IDs 11,12)

### 2. Siberian Rivers
- **Ob Basin:** Main stem, tributaries, Yamal region, Messoyakha (IDs 3,10,23,28)
- **Yenisey Basin:** Main basin, Selenga tributaries, delta (IDs 9,20,21)
- **Irtysh & Chulym:** Major tributaries (IDs 24,26)

### 3. Far Eastern Rivers
- **Lena Basin:** Near Yakutsk, main basin, delta (IDs 1,2,8)
- **Yana & Indigirka:** Upper and lower reaches (IDs 5,6,16)
- **Kolyma Basin:** Main basin, lower reaches, delta (IDs 4,7,22)
- **Pacific Systems:** Kamchatka, Ussuri (IDs 15,27)

### Table 1. River System Characteristics
| Region     | Catchment     | River                          | Length (km) | Bmean (m/yr) | Bmax (m/yr) | Q (m³/s)       | Temporal Range | ID  |
| :--------- | :------------ | :----------------------------- | :---------- | :----------- | :---------- | :------------- | :------------- | :-- |
| **Europe** | Vistula       | Vistula (middle)               | 120         | 8.81         | 50.7        | 1,080-1,080    | 2006–2023      | 17  |
|            | Volga         | Setun and Ramenka              | 20          | 0.15         | 0.62        | 1-2.4          | 1942–2010      | 13  |
|            |               | Moscow region rivers           | 60          | 0.18         | 1.3         | 0.5-490        | 2003–2010      | 14  |
|            |               | Kudma basin rivers             | 30          | 0.2          | 0.13        | 0.3-6.7        | 2017–2023      | 18  |
|            |               | Volga (near Volgograd)         | 230         | 6.75         | 53          | 8,200-8,240    | 1977–2022      | 19  |
|            |               | Oka (Moskva to mouth)          | 805         | 1.1          | 10.2        | 560-1,330      | 2002–2022      | 25  |
|            | Ural          | Ural (middle-lower)            | 1,700       | 2.18         | 20.9        | 64-337         | 1985–2015      | 11  |
|            |               | Sakmara (middle-lower)         | 330         | 1.90         | 8.3         | 44-250         | 1985–2015      | 12  |
| **Siberia**| Ob            | Ob basin rivers                | 30,200      | 0.5          | 7.67        | 30-13,498      | 1985–2021      | 3   |
|            |               | Ob (source to mouth)           | 4,000       | 1.67         | 26.3        | 1,040-13,400   | 1968–2022      | 10  |
|            |               | Irtysh (middle-lower)          | 1,690       | 2.38         | 20.9        | 930-2,920      | 1985–2021      | 24  |
|            | Gulf of Ob    | Yamal region rivers            | 2           | 1.2          | 2.5         | 5-10           | 2022–2024      | 23  |
|            |               | Messoyakha                     | 296         | 2.17         | 14.5        | 100-310        | 1976–2023      | 28  |
|            | Yenisey       | Yenisey basin rivers           | 34,800      | 0.55         | 9.02        | 30-19,744      | 1985–2019      | 9   |
|            |               | Selenga basin rivers           | 8,617       | 0.95         | 6.29        | 1-2,450        | 1984–2016      | 20  |
|            |               | Yenisey delta                  | 200         | 0.98         | 5.69        | 19,700         | 2000–2022      | 21  |
| **Far East**| Lena         | Lena (near Yakutsk)            | 76          | 2.6          | 23.8        | 7,272-7,297    | 1965–1993      | 1   |
|            |               | Lena basin rivers              | 34,800      | 0.8          | 14.6        | 30-15,701      | 1986–2021      | 2   |
|            |               | Lena delta                     | 10,600      | 0.89         | 5.99        | 15,800         | 2000–2021      | 8   |
|            | Yana          | Yana (upper)                   | 225         | 1.42         | 8.3         | 154-182        | 2002–2021      | 6   |
|            | Indigirka     | Indigirka (lower)              | 260         | 1.42         | 7.45        | 913-1,500      | 1975–2017      | 16  |
|            |               | Indigirka (main)               | 618         | 1.31         | 23.9        | 913-1,780      | 2000–2019      | 5   |
|            | Kolyma        | Kolyma basin rivers            | 8,100       | 0.81         | 8.84        | 30-3,718       | 1999–2021      | 4   |
|            |               | Kolyma (lower)                 | 400         | 1.50         | 13.0        | 2,350-3,720    | 1965–2021      | 7   |
|            |               | Kolyma delta                   | 120         | 1.11         | 3.04        | 3,700          | 2001–2022      | 22  |
|            | Kamchatka     | Kamchatka (upper-middle)       | 320         | 1.08         | 15.8        | 64-904         | 1967–2017      | 15  |
|            | Amur          | Ussuri (middle)                | 214         | 1.06         | 8.5         | 210-820        | 2002–2022      | 27  |
*Abbreviations: L = River section length, Bmean = Mean bank retreat rate, Bmax = Maximum bank retreat, Q = Mean annual discharge (Lehner & Grill 2013)*, ID - shape file ID

## Dataset Variables
| Variable Name        | Description                                                                 | Units       | Source/Notes                                                                 |
| :------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :---------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **`Bmean.m.year`**   | Mean annual bank retreat rates                                              | m/year      |                                                                              |
| **`Amean.m2.year`**  | Mean annual channel erosion area                                            | m²/year     |                                                                              |
| **`Vmean.tonn.year`**| Mean annual channel erosion volume                                          | tonnes/year | Metric tons (1,000 kg)                                                       |
| **`Bmax.m.year`**    | Maximum annual bank retreat rates                                           | m/year      |                                                                              |
| **`year.start`**     | First year of bank retreat estimation                                       | year        |                                                                              |
| **`year.end`**       | Last year of bank retreat estimation                                        | year        |                                                                              |
| **`river`**          | River name                                                                  | -           |                                                                              |
| **`method`**         | Methodology code (see Methods Description below)                            | -           | Categories: I, II, III, IV, Va, Vb                                          |
| **`bas`**            | River basin                                                                 | -           |                                                                              |
| **`Q.m3.sec`**       | Mean annual water discharge                                                 | m³/sec      | Linke et al. (2019)                                                          |
| **`Permafrost`**     | Permafrost extent classification                                            | -           | Obu et al. (2019); Categories: [0=None, 1=Sporadic, 2=Discontinuous, 3=Continuous] |
| **`Climate`**        | Köppen-Geiger climate zone                                                  | -           | Peel et al. (2007); Major classes: Dfc, ET, Dfb, etc.                        |

## Methods Description
The `method` variable categorizes the erosion quantification approach:

- **Method I**: Field-based measurements using geodesic instruments/UAVs
- **Methods II, III, IV**: Linear approaches tracking banklines/centerlines
- **Method V**: Area-based water/land classification from satellite imagery

### Method Implementation Details
| Method | Applied Tools                                | Site Numbers             | Rivers                                                                 | Parameters           |
| :----- | :------------------------------------------- | :----------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------- |
| **I**  | Geodesic instruments, UAVs                   | 14, 18, 23               | Moscow region, Kudma basin, Yamal rivers                               | Bmean, Bmax          |
| **II** | Manual digitizing (ArcGIS)                   | 1,7,10,15,16,19,28       | Lena, Kolyma, Ob, Indigirka, Volga, Kamchatka, Messoyakha              | Bmean, Bmax, Amean   |
| **III**| Centerline method (ArcGIS)                   | 11,12,13,20,24           | Ural, Sakmara, Setun/Ramenka, Selenga, Irtysh                          | Bmean                |
| **IV** | Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS)     | 17                       | Vistula                                                                | Bmean                |
| **Va** | Database classification (Rstudio, ArcGIS)    | 2,3,4,9                  | Lena/Ob/Yenisey/Kolyma basins                                          | Bmean, Amean, Bmax, Vmean |
| **Vb** | Water index classification (Rstudio, ArcGIS) | 5,6,8,21,22,25,26,27     | Yenisey/Lena/Kolyma deltas; Indigirka, Oka, Chulym, Ussuri, Yana       | Bmean, Amean, Bmax, Vmean |

## Dataset Files
- **Primary Dataset:** `NERM_dataset.shp.rar` (80.19 MB) - Geospatial data contains 28 geospatial datasets organized by river system IDs. Each dataset consists of ESRI Shapefile components:
NERM_dataset.shp.rar
├── 1_Lena.* # ID 1: Lena (near Yakutsk)
├── 2_lena1.* # ID 2: Rivers of Lena basin (Part 1)
├── 2_lena2.* # ID 2: Rivers of Lena basin (Part 2)
├── 2_Rivers of the Lena river basin.*
├── 3_ob1.* # ID 3: Ob basin rivers (Part 1)
├── 3_ob2.* # ID 3: Ob basin rivers (Part 2)
├── 3_Rivers of the Ob river basin.*
├── 4_kolyma1.* # ID 4: Kolyma basin rivers (Part 1)
├── 4_kolyma2.* # ID 4: Kolyma basin rivers (Part 2)
├── 5_indigirka1.* # ID 5: Indigirka (main)
├── 6_Yana.* # ID 6: Yana (upper)
├── 7_Kolyma.* # ID 7: Kolyma (lower)
├── 8_Lena, delta.* # ID 8: Lena delta
├── 9_yenisey1.* # ID 9: Yenisey basin (Part 1)
├── 9_yenisey2.* # ID 9: Yenisey basin (Part 2)
├── 10_Ob.* # ID 10: Ob (source to mouth)
├── 11_Ural.* # ID 11: Ural (middle-lower)
├── 12_Sakmara.* # ID 12: Sakmara (middle-lower)
├── 13_Setun and Ramenka.* # ID 13: Setun and Ramenka
├── 14_Moscow region.* # ID 14: Moscow region rivers (+.geojson)
├── 15_Kamchatka.* # ID 15: Kamchatka (upper-middle)
├── 16_indigirka2.* # ID 16: Indigirka (lower)
├── 17_Vistula.* # ID 17: Vistula (middle)
├── 18_Kudma catchment.* # ID 18: Kudma basin rivers
├── 19_Volga.* # ID 19: Volga (near Volgograd)
├── 20_Rivers of Selenga catchment.* # ID 20: Selenga basin
├── 21_Yenisey delta.* # ID 21: Yenisey delta
├── 22_Kolyma delta.* # ID 22: Kolyma delta
├── 23_Yamal penisula rivers.* # ID 23: Yamal region rivers
├── 24_Irtysh.* # ID 24: Irtysh (middle-lower)
├── 25_oka.* # ID 25: Oka (Moskva to mouth)
├── 26_Chulym.* # ID 26: Chulym (middle-lower)
├── 27_Ussuri.* # ID 27: Ussuri (middle)
└── 28_Mesoyakha.* # ID 28: Messoyakha

- **Data Description:** `README.txt` (This document)

## Interactive Visualization
[Online Map Viewer](https://map.giscarta.com/viewer/93a6a4b3-179f-450f-be02-a31ca6db245b)

## Key References
1. **Discharge Data:** Linke et al. (2019) *Scientific Data* 6, 283
2. **Permafrost Data:** Obu et al. (2019) *Earth-Sci Rev* 193, 299-316
3. **Climate Data:** Peel et al. (2007) *Hydrol Earth Syst Sci* 11, 1633-1644
4. **Runoff Data:** Lehner & Grill (2013) *Global Environ Change* 23(1), 144-154

## License
[CC BY 4.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)  
**Copyright © 2025 The Authors.**

## Citation
```bibtex
@dataset{chalov_sergey_2024_11072920,
  author       = {Chalov, Sergey et al.},
  title        = {{Multi-tool dataset on Northern Eurasian Riverbank Migration (NERM)}},
  year         = 2024,
  publisher    = {Zenodo},
  version      = {1.0},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.11072920},
  url          = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11072920}
}