Getting freshwater spatiotemporal data on track – towards the interoperability of freshwater-specific data

Spatiotemporal earth system data on freshwaters are poorly organized at present and their rich potential for research and environmental management is barely exploited. Part of this deficiency relates to the spatial structure of river networks, in particular, which requires a specialized workflow for earth system data integration and use. To address this challenge, we developed the GeoFRESH online platform, available at http://geofresh.org/. GeoFRESH provides the integration, processing, management and visualization of standardized spatiotemporal earth system data related to freshwaters on the global scale. Users can (i) upload point data; (ii) automatically assign the points to a new fine-scale hydrographical network; (iii) map the points to the corresponding upstream catchment; (iv) annotate the points with site-specific and upstream environmental information based on a suite of 104 layers capturing topography, climate, landcover and soil characteristics; (v) calculate network distances among points; and (vi) download the compiled data ready for downstream analyses. GeoFRESH capitalizes on open-source PostgreSQL, PostGIS and pgRouting software, building on a new database comprising the global ‘Hydrography90m’ stream network at 90 m resolution, comprising a total of 726 million unique stream segments. The platform is readily expandable thanks to its modular structure and serves as a key element in supporting freshwater science and management relying on high-resolution geospatial analyses. GeoFRESH thus contributes significantly to FAIR data management and exchange by enabling globally standardized stream network queries and offering a powerful tool to stakeholders engaged in water research, sustainable water management and the monitoring of freshwater ecosystem services alike.