The Global River Chemistry Database
To meet the increasing demand for hydrochemical data, the new GLObal RIver CHemistry database GLORICH was established, which comprises 1.27 million samples distributed over 17,000 sampling locations. The reported hydrochemical parameters include concentrations of major ions, nutrients (N, P, Si), organic and inorganic carbon, alkalinity, pH, dissolved oxygen and water temperature. For 15,500 sampling locations, the catchments could be derived, ranging in size from < 0.6 km² to > 5.3 million km².
Hydrochemical data were mostly gathered from environmental monitoring programs, but also from scientific literature. The data were homogenized and test routines for the feasibility of data helped to identify erroneous or implausible data. Catchment boundaries and catchment properties were calculated, which include lithological composition, soil properties, climate, lake abundance, topography, land cover, and population density. Some of the catchment property data are available on monthly basis, e.g. runoff. A detailed list of water quality parameter coverage is provided in the table below. Sample locations and their catchment outlines are presented in the figure above.
If you are interested to use the GLORICH, please contact Jens Hartmann.
GLORICH Parameters
| Description | Parameter abbreviation in database | Unit | No. of sampling locations | No. of samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ID of the sampling location | ||||
| Date and time of the sampling | ||||
| Type of sampling (single sample, mixed samples collected over specific periods, averages from different samples) | ||||
| Reference | ||||
| Discharge, if not flagged, this refers to instantaneous discharge at time of sampling | m3 s-1 | 4,817 | 353,388 | |
| Water temperature | °C | 13,970 | 549,899 | |
| pH | pH | 17,437 | 889,355 | |
| Dissolved oxygene concnetration | DO_mgL | mg O2 L-1 | 3,785 | 152,319 |
| Oxygene saturation | DOSAT | % | 7,110 | 170,369 |
| Specific conductivity | SpecCond25C | µS cm-1 | 14,963 | 919,916 |
| Suspended matter concentration | SPM | mg L-1 | 6,000 | 241,656 |
| Alkalinity | Alkalinity | µeq L-1 | 12,931 | 639,259 |
| Bicarbonate ion concentration | HCO3 | µmol L-1 | 6,554 | 144,979 |
| Carbonate ion concentration | CO3 | µmol L-1 | 2,344 | 82,616 |
| Calcium concentration, dissolved | Ca | µmol L-1 | 12,154 | 615,500 |
| Magnesium concentration, dissolved | Mg | µmol L-1 | 12,081 | 613,108 |
| Sodium concentration, dissolved | Na | µmol L-1 | 11,802 | 598,367 |
| Potassium concentration, dissolved | K | µmol L-1 | 11,642 | 594,157 |
| Silica concentration, dissolved | SiO2 | µmol L-1 | 9,880 | 624,877 |
| Chloride concentration, dissolved | Cl | µmol L-1 | 12,600 | 742,662 |
| Sulphate concentration, dissolved | SO4 | µmol L-1 | 12,629 | 663,739 |
| Fluoride concentration, dissolved | F | µmol L-1 | 6,551 | 486,010 |
| Strontium concentration, dissolved | DSr | µmol L-1 | 2,200 | 30,839 |
| Total carbon concentration | TC | µmol L-1 | 86 | 2,245 |
| Total inorganic carbon concentration | TIC | µmol L-1 | 670 | 14,162 |
| Dissolved inorganic carbon concentration | DIC | µmol L-1 | 666 | 18,409 |
| Particulate inorganic carbon concentration | PIC | µmol L-1 | 540 | 3,536 |
| Total organic carbon concentration | TOC | µmol L-1 | 3,541 | 117,301 |
| Dissolved organic carbon concentration | DOC | µmol L-1 | 6,771 | 201,401 |
| Particulate organic carbon concentration | POC | µmol L-1 | 2,677 | 32,732 |
| Total nitrogen concentration | TN | µmol L-1 | 4,685 | 267,069 |
| Dissolved nitrogen concentration | DN | µmol L-1 | 855 | 35,201 |
| Particulate nitrogen concentration | PN | µmol L-1 | 57 | 445 |
| Total inorganic nitrogen concentration | TIN | µmol L-1 | 73 | 13,124 |
| Dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentration | DIN | µmol L-1 | 121 | 8,009 |
| Total organic nitrogen concentration | TON | µmol L-1 | 211 | 13,846 |
| Dissolved organic nitrogen concentration | DON | µmol L-1 | 29 | 571 |
| Particulate organic nitrogen concentration | PON | µmol L-1 | 4 | 64 |
| Total Kjeldahl nitrogen | TKN | µmol L-1 | 7,092 | 299,198 |
| Dissolved Kjeldahl nitrogen | DKN | µmol L-1 | 3,049 | 52,759 |
| Nitrate concentration, dissolved | NO3 | µmol L-1 | 7,200 | 208,229 |
| Nitrite concentration, dissolved | NO2 | µmol L-1 | 8,393 | 240,300 |
| Nitrate+Nitrite concentration, dissolved | NO2_NO3 | µmol L-1 | 7,413 | 583,839 |
| Ammonium concentration, total | TNH4 | µmol L-1 | 1,512 | 75,987 |
| Ammonium concentration, dissolved | DNH4 | µmol L-1 | 11,350 | 609,307 |
| Total phosphorous concentration | TP | µmol L-1 | 10,540 | 484,825 |
| Dissolved phosphorous concentration | DP | µmol L-1 | 3,296 | 105,999 |
| Particulate phosphorous concentration | PP | µmol L-1 | 18 | 613 |
| Total inorganic phosphorous concentration | TIP | µmol L-1 | 1,037 | 26,841 |
| Dissolved inorganic phosphorous concentration | DIP | µmol L-1 | 11,844 | 661,267 |
| Particulate sulphur concentration | PS | µmol L-1 | 8 | 98 |
