The new hydrographic HydroSHEDS database derived from the TanDEM-X DEM

Abstract

Water-related applications such as hydrology, hydrodynamics, and flood inundation modelling crucially require fundamental hydrographic knowledge and monitoring as well as the tools and data that support mapping and analysis of natural river and drainage characteristics. Since its introduction in 2008, HydroSHEDS is a well-established database providing seamless hydrographic information to support hydro-ecological research and applications on a multitude of scales by offering standardized spatial units for hydrological assessments. Although being widely used, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)-based version 1 of HydroSHEDS has important limitations, in particular in areas above 60° N latitude. A steadily increasing availability and accuracy of remote sensing data promotes the development of a second and refined version of HydroSHEDS, which is based on the globally consistent and highly accurate TanDEM-X dataset. In light of this, HydroSHEDS v2 is currently created in collaboration between the German Aerospace Center (DLR), McGill University, Confluvio Consulting and the World Wildlife Fund. Within the HydroSHEDS workflow, the pre-conditioning comprises multiple editing and correction steps to prepare the TanDEM-X DEM for hydrological applications. Compared to HydroSHEDS v1, the resulting hydrologically conditioned DEM ensures a more accurate derivation of HydroSHEDS v2 core products such as flow directions, river courses and catchment boundaries. By providing even clearer and more complete views of Earth’s waterways, the HydroSHEDS geospatial framework serves various management and decisionmaking applications beyond scientific research including aquatic ecosystem services, human health impacts and conservation planning.