Extending daily river discharge records across China using satellite-derived river widths

Wang, Yong; Gong, Yulin; Jing, Yinghong; She, Xiaojun; Li, Yao

doi:10.5194/essd-18-6973-2026

Articles | Volume 18, issue 9

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-6973-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-6973-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 18, issue 9

Data description article

|

23 Sep 2026

Data description article |

| 23 Sep 2026

Extending daily river discharge records across China using satellite-derived river widths

Yong Wang, Yulin Gong, Yinghong Jing, Xiaojun She, and Yao Li

Data sets

China Daily River Discharge Records (CDR²) dataset Y. Wang and Y. Li https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22231453

SWOT River Database (SWORD) (Version v17) E. H. Altenau et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14727521

Satellite Altimetry-based Extension of global-scale in situ river discharge Measurements (SAEM) P. Saemian et al. https://doi.org/10.18419/DARUS-4475

Remote Sensing-Based Extension of GRDC River Discharge Time Series O. Elmi et al. https://doi.org/10.18419/DARUS-3558

Remote sensing of river discharge (RSQ) estimates derived from multi-temporal Landsat width observations and BAM/geoBAM discharge inversion algorithms (Version v1) P. Lin et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6655532

Extending Global River Gauge Records Using Satellite Observations R. M. Riggs et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7150168

Short summary

Rivers are vital sources of freshwater, but long-term records of how much water they carry are unavailable for many regions. This study combined satellite imagery with observations from more than 1000 river gauges to create the most comprehensive daily river discharge dataset for China (1990–2024). The dataset reveals widespread declines in river discharge across much of the country and provides an important resource for water management, environmental research, and future satellite missions.