Virtual stations (TeroVIR ) and water level time series (TeroWAT) in West Africa and Arctic regions

The dataset contains a sample of locations across Siberia and Africa, for which water-level time series were automatically derived from Sentinel-3 altimeters (methodology described in Machefer et al. 2022¹) from year 2016 to year 2021, together with the in-situ station records and the area covered by the altimetry measurements. The purpose of this dataset is validation and exemplification of the methodology. 

The methodology described produces comprehensive water level records at a global scale based on altimetry satellite data. The validation against in-situ data was assessed in numerous environments in West Africa and complex locations such as Arctic rivers partially covered with ice.

This dataset offers a sample of the records at 3 locations in West Africa (Kemacina [Mali], Koulikouro [Mali], Lokoja [Niger]) and in the sub-arctic region (Yakutsk [Russia]). The data are organised by Level 1 of HydroBASINS² definition (ex: africa) in two folders, each containing: virtual stations (teroVIR) and insitu stations (insitu) as shapefiles with their associated metadata, the corresponding water level time series (teroWAT) in NetCDF, and the level 3 of HydroBASINS, corresponding to the largest river basins of each continent. Finally, a csv file (validation) presents the computed metrics assessing the accuracy of the processors.

N.B.: time series with less than two common date points between insitu and teroWAT have not been assessed. 

[1] Machefer, M., Perpinyà-Vallès M., Escorihuela M.J., Gustafsson D., Romero L. (2022): Challenges and evolution of water level monitoring towards a comprehensive, world-scale coverage with remote sensing. Earth System Science Data (Under Reviewing)

[2] Lehner, B., Grill G. (2013): Global river hydrography and network routing: baseline data and new approaches to study the world’s large river systems. Hydrological Processes, 27(15): 2171–2186. Data is available at www.hydrosheds.org.