GeoDAR: georeferenced global dams and reservoirs dataset for bridging attributes and geolocations

Abstract

Abstract. Dams and reservoirs are among the most widespread human-made infrastructures on Earth. Despite their societal and environmental significance, spatial inventories of dams and reservoirs, even for the large ones, are insufficient. A dilemma of the existing georeferenced dam datasets is the polarized focus on either dam quantity and spatial coverage (e.g., GlObal geOreferenced Database of Dams, GOODD) or detailed attributes for a limited dam quantity or region (e.g., GRanD (Global Reservoir and Dam database) and national inventories). One of the most comprehensive datasets, the World Register of Dams (WRD), maintained by the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), documents nearly 60 000 dams with an extensive suite of attributes. Unfortunately, the WRD records provide no geographic coordinates, limiting the benefits of their attributes for spatially explicit applications. To bridge the gap between attribute accessibility and spatial explicitness, we introduce the Georeferenced global Dams And Reservoirs (GeoDAR) dataset, created by utilizing the Google Maps geocoding application programming interface (API) and multi-source inventories. We release GeoDAR in two successive versions (v1.0 and v1.1) at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6163413 (Wang et al., 2022). GeoDAR v1.0 holds 22 560 dam points georeferenced from the WRD, whereas v1.1 consists of (a) 24 783 dam points after a harmonization between GeoDAR v1.0 and GRanD v1.3 and (b) 21 515 reservoir polygons retrieved from high-resolution water masks based on a one-to-one relationship between dams and reservoirs. Due to geocoding challenges, GeoDAR spatially resolved ∼ 40 % of the records in the WRD, which, however, comprise over 90 % of the total reservoir area, catchment area, and reservoir storage capacity. GeoDAR does not release the proprietary WRD attributes, but upon individual user requests we may provide assistance in associating GeoDAR spatial features with the WRD attribute information that users have acquired from ICOLD. Despite this limit, GeoDAR, with a dam quantity triple that of GRanD, significantly enhances the spatial details of smaller but more widespread dams and reservoirs and complements other existing global dam inventories. Along with its extended attribute accessibility, GeoDAR is expected to benefit a broad range of applications in hydrologic modeling, water resource management, ecosystem health, and energy planning.

The Global Surface Area Variations of Lakes and Reservoirs as Seen From Satellite Remote Sensing

“…To correct for this, the HydroLAKES database was spatially joined with GeoDAR, a global reservoir data set (J. Wang et al, 2022). This process changes the classification of 1,968 water bodies from lakes to reservoirs, mostly ranging in size from 1 to 10 km 2 .…”

“…A feature of HydroLAKES is that water bodies are defined as natural lakes by default and only defined as artificial reservoirs if explicitly identified as a reservoir, and thus all unidentified smaller reservoirs are labeled as lakes in the database. To correct for this, the HydroLAKES database was spatially joined with GeoDAR, a global reservoir data set (J. Wang et al., 2022). This process changes the classification of 1,968 water bodies from lakes to reservoirs, mostly ranging in size from 1 to 10 km 2 .…”

Improved maps of surface water bodies, large dams, reservoirs, and lakes in China

“…Nearly 50 % of the global large dams were built primarily for agricultural irrigation through storing, regulating, and diverting water (Mulligan et al, 2020). Additionally, they are also used for hydropower generation, human and industrial uses, and flood peak attenuation (Lehner et al, 2011;Lehner and Döll, 2004;Wang et al, 2022a). Large lakes have been the subject of great interest not only because of their water resources but also as indicators of local climate change and anthropogenic activities Ma et al, 2011;Birkett and Mason, 1995), and they could provide vital ecosystem services for human beings, such as alteration of river flow, supplies of irrigation water, fisheries, and abundant valuable mineral deposits, and have disproportionate effects on the global carbon cycle (Ran et al, 2021;Armstrong, 2010;Ma et al, 2011).…”

“…Since the 1980s, China has taken diverse measures to ensure long-term water security (Zhou et al, 2020). For example, China has a remarkable increase of reservoir construction across the country (Wang et al, 2022a;Zhu et al, 2020), and the total number of dams increased to ∼ 89 700 by 2008 in China (Yang and Lu, 2014). The Three Gorges reservoir, which is the world's largest hydroelectric dam (Three Gorges Dam), is fully operational for flood control, power generation, navigation, and water use (Wu et al, 2004;Zhang et al, 2012;Wang et al, 2013Wang et al, , 2020a.…”

Remotely sensed reservoir water storage dynamics (1984–2015) and the influence of climate variability and management at a global scale

“…For example, by 2014, there were 3700 hydropower dams either under construction or planned worldwide. The majority of these are in developing countries, particularly in South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa (Bonnema et al, 2016;Zarfl et al, 2015;Mulligan et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2022). However, constructing new reservoirs has become challenging due to a shortage of suitable construction sites and re-maining 'underdeveloped' water resources, and an increased recognition of the profound impacts that impoundments have on the local population and riverine ecosystem (Grill et al, 2015(Grill et al, , 2019Lehner et al, 2011;Nilsson et al, 2005).…”