GCRI · Water Nexus

Catchment hydrology

A catchment is the area that drains to one point: every drop of rain that falls inside it either evaporates, soaks in or runs to that outlet. Catchment hydrology is the accounting of that water through time, and it is the base on which every water decision in the basin rests.

01Register

Catchment hydrology on the record.

02The question

Catchment hydrology: how the risk develops.

Catchment hydrology and the complete water balance. The dossier below sets out how the risk develops, what is measured, where the data come from, how it is modelled and who decides.

Mechanism

The water balance

Precipitation equals evapotranspiration plus runoff plus the change in storage in soils, aquifers, snow and reservoirs. The balance closes only when every term is measured or estimated with a stated error.

Mechanism

Runoff generation

Water reaches rivers by overland flow when rain exceeds infiltration, by shallow subsurface flow, and by groundwater discharge that sustains dry-season flow. Land cover and soil decide the split.

Mechanism

Routing and travel time

A flood wave attenuates and lags as it moves downstream; channels, floodplains and reservoirs each change its shape. Travel time is what gives a warning its lead.

Mechanism

Human alteration

Dams, abstraction, drainage, urban surfaces and irrigation returns rewrite the natural balance. A model calibrated on the natural regime misreads a regulated one.

03Geography

Water now in the Nile Basin.

Flood water, rain and root-zone soil moisture over the Nile Basin, from NASA GIBS. Each layer carries its own date.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 3

Water now, for this page

About this layer
Evidence
Observed (clouds leave gaps)
Source
VIIRS Global Flood Product (NASA LANCE)
Provider
NASA LANCE
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
daily; Satellite detection; clouds leave gaps
Newest at build
2026-10-14
Resolution
about 250 m grid
Uncertainty
Satellite detection; clouds leave gaps. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Estimated
Source
GPM IMERG (NASA GES DISC)
Provider
NASA GES DISC
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
daily; Satellite estimate, near real time
Newest at build
2026-10-12
Resolution
about 2 km grid
Uncertainty
Satellite estimate, near real time. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Modelled
Source
SMAP Level 4 (NASA NSIDC DAAC)
Provider
NASA NSIDC DAAC
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
daily; Model with satellite data assimilated
Newest at build
2026-10-11
Resolution
about 2 km grid
Uncertainty
Model with satellite data assimilated. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Observed
Source
VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance (NASA LANCE)
Provider
NASA LANCE
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
daily; Satellite image
Newest at build
2026-10-14
Resolution
about 250 m grid
Uncertainty
Satellite image. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Modelled (latest year GIBS publishes)
Source
MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1) (NASA LP DAAC)
Provider
NASA LP DAAC
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
yearly; Satellite classification; latest year GIBS publishes
Newest at build
2024-01-01
Resolution
about 500 m grid
Uncertainty
Satellite land cover classes for the year shown, including croplands; a classification with known errors, not a farm register.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Observed (latest month GIBS publishes)
Source
GRACE-FO JPL mascons (NASA JPL PO.DAAC)
Provider
NASA JPL PO.DAAC
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
monthly; Satellite gravimetry; latest month GIBS publishes
Newest at build
2022-07-01
Resolution
about 2 km grid
Uncertainty
Satellite gravimetry; latest month GIBS publishes. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

Water now, framed on the Nile Basin.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONET · NASA GPM IMERG Early · NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERTSources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • GPM IMERG precipitation, NASA Precipitation Processing System; distributed by the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • SMAP Level 4 soil moisture and snow mass, NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office; distributed by the NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center DAAC; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • GRACE and GRACE-FO JPL mascon solution, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; distributed by the NASA Physical Oceanography DAAC (PO.DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
  • Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
  • Live: NASA EONET Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
  • Live: NASA GPM IMERG Early. We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • Observed (EO): NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERT (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026). We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • River discharge forecast, 30 days with range (GloFAS via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Emergency Management Service information 2026; not a flood warning.
  • Past year, daily temperature (ERA5 via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
  • Past year, daily temperature and sunshine (NASA POWER): These data were obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) POWER Project funded through the NASA Earth Science/Applied Science Program..
  • Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (https://open-meteo.com/), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
  • Optional layers (14 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

Layers and dates

  • Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
  • Precipitation rate, daily mean: GPM IMERG, NASA GES DISC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Root-zone soil moisture, 0 to 100 cm: SMAP Level 4, NASA NSIDC DAAC · 11 Oct 2026
  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
  • Water storage anomaly, monthly: GRACE-FO JPL mascons, NASA JPL PO.DAAC · July 2022

04Couplings

The catchment water balance as the shared input to every other domain.

DomainHow it couples hereWhat to watch
EnergyRun-of-river and reservoir hydropower are planned on the flow duration curve the catchment produces. See hydropower and water.Shifts in seasonal flow timing as snow and glaciers change
FoodIrrigation abstraction and rain-fed yields both depend on soil water and runoff. See food, water and energy.Abstraction share of renewable water in dry months
HealthSource water quality depends on catchment land use, sediment and pathogens carried in runoff.Turbidity peaks after storms at treatment works intakes
BiodiversityForests, soils and wetlands shape infiltration and baseflow; land-cover change alters the water balance. See forests and landscapes.Land-cover change in headwaters
05Monitor

Basin stress monitor.

The screen a team would use to follow this subject: its measures, states and decisions. Names are examples and values are illustrative.

Basin stress monitor: the screen’s structure, terms and states for Catchment hydrology.Example names and illustrative values; a design, not a record or a live system.
06Reports, standards and contributions

Catchment evidence in reports, and the data that would most improve it.

Catchment models and water balances are designed for the Methods and Technical series and, where a national team commissions them, the Country Systems Risk and Resilience series. Large-sample datasets such as CAMELS and machine-learning rainfall-runoff models (Kratzert and others, 2019) have improved prediction in ungauged basins; each model would carry a model card under NS-12 of the proposed Nexus Standards stating where it was trained and where it should not be used.

  • Gauge records shared with the Global Runoff Data Centre or offered under national terms.
  • Rating curve updates after channel change.
  • Catchment attribute data (soils, geology, land use) for basins missing from large-sample sets.
07Simulator

Route a storm through a river network.

Rain becomes runoff by the curve number method, drains each sub-catchment through a linear reservoir and travels down the main stem by Muskingum routing; play it to watch the flood wave move and flatten. Teaching model with stated illustrative values, not a prediction. The map on this page shows The Nile Basin; the model itself is not tied to a place.

Controls

Storm rainfall depth
120 mm
Storm duration
12 h
Curve number (soil and land cover)
78
Catchment area
800 km²
Reaches on the main stem
5
Travel time per reach (Muskingum K)
6.0 h
Muskingum X (storage weighting)
0.20
Channel capacity per unit area
300 L/s per km²

Readouts

Peak discharge at the outlet
452 m³/s
Time to peak
21.6 h
Attenuation by the channel
61%
Hours over capacity
26.4 h
Runoff coefficient
52%
Numbers, methods and sources
HourOutlet (m³/s)Unrouted (m³/s)Upper reach (m³/s)
2.40.0678.90.0
12.0308.31,151.4181.8
21.6452.435.173.7
31.2363.31.111.1
40.8198.80.01.5
50.479.30.00.2
60.025.40.00.0
69.66.90.00.0
79.21.70.00.0
88.80.40.00.0
98.40.10.00.0
108.00.00.00.0
117.60.00.00.0
127.20.00.00.0
136.80.00.00.0

Methods

  1. Curve number runoff USDA Soil Conservation Service (1972), National Engineering Handbook, Section 4: Hydrology
  2. Linear reservoir Nash (1957), The form of the instantaneous unit hydrograph, IAHS 45
  3. Muskingum channel routing McCarthy (1938); Cunge (1969), Journal of Hydraulic Research 7
  4. Uncertainty fan (parameter Monte Carlo) Spiegelhalter, Pearson and Short (2011), Visualising uncertainty about the future, Science 333
  5. One-at-a-time sensitivity (tornado) Saltelli and others (2008), Global Sensitivity Analysis: The Primer, Wiley

Data

The model runs on the teaching values set by the controls. To calibrate it for a place, read it against these admitted layers and series, which this page’s map can draw:

  • Rivers Natural Earth
  • Lakes and reservoirs Natural Earth
  • Cities Natural Earth
  • Rain rate, last half hour (IMERG) NASA GPM IMERG Early · register nasa.gibs.context-live-layers
  • River discharge forecast, 30 days with range (GloFAS via Open-Meteo) Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0), Copernicus GloFAS · register open-meteo.public-pages
  • Surface soil moisture (SMAP) NASA SMAP · register nasa.gibs.context-live-layers
  • Surface water, 30 m (OPERA DSWx-HLS) NASA JPL OPERA DSWx-HLS (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026) · register nasa.gibs.context-live-layers
  • Surface water through cloud, 30 m (OPERA DSWx-S1 radar) NASA JPL OPERA DSWx-S1 (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel-1 data 2026) · register nasa.gibs.context-live-layers
Route a storm through a river network. Illustrative teaching model: it runs on the values set by the controls, not on measured data. Methods: Curve number runoff (USDA Soil Conservation Service (1972), National Engineering Handbook, Section 4: Hydrology); Linear reservoir (Nash (1957), The form of the instantaneous unit hydrograph, IAHS 45); Muskingum channel routing (McCarthy (1938); Cunge (1969), Journal of Hydraulic Research 7).

Across the six pillars, led by Nexus Consortium

08Indicators

What is measured, and how well.

Each indicator carries its unit, its cadence, the kind of source behind it and the evidence label a value would carry. No values are shown: a programme supplies them under its own authority.

IndicatorUnitCadenceSource typeLabel
Catchment precipitationmillimetres per monthmonthlyGauge and satellite rainfallESTIMATED
Actual evapotranspirationmillimetres per monthmonthlySatellite energy balance, land-surface modelMODELLED
Runoff coefficientdimensionlessseasonalGauged flow against rainfallESTIMATED
Baseflow indexdimensionlessannualHydrograph separationESTIMATED
Flow duration curve percentilescubic metres per secondperiod of recordStream gaugesOBSERVED
Water yieldmillimetres per yearannualWater balanceMODELLED
09Twin and cascade simulator

Model catchment hydrology as a system. Run the cascade.

Assembled from the Nexus Standards area profile Water risk standards: the hazards it names, the systems and sectors that carry the loss, the controls that dampen it and the data that observe it. Choose the components, pick an initiating hazard and step through the cascade. The Map view places the run on an example geography with open data. Every coupling weight is a stated assumption you can change. A teaching model, not a forecast, an assessment or a certification. To model a place of your own choosing, open the full System Builder.

Hazards

  • Flash flood
  • Meteorological drought
  • Groundwater depletion
  • Dam failure
  • Debris flow (set off downstream)
  • Agricultural drought (set off downstream)
  • Hydrological drought (set off downstream)
  • Wildfire (set off downstream)
  • Peat and underground fire (set off downstream)
  • Forest dieback (set off downstream)
  • Water supply shortfall (set off downstream)
  • Acute food crisis (set off downstream)
  • Dust storm (set off downstream)
  • Land subsidence (set off downstream)
  • Saltwater intrusion (set off downstream)
  • River flood (set off downstream)
  • Mass displacement (set off downstream)
  • Amazon rainforest dieback (set off downstream)

Controls

  • NS-0 Constitution and principles
  • NS-1 The UNI and the artefact catalogue (grammar v0.2: domain, sector, region and environment segments)
  • NS-3 Risk record UNIs (grammar, legacy crosswalk, allocation authority)
  • NS-3b Dataset and product metadata profile (STAC, DCAT, PROV-O)
  • NS-9 Contextual UNIs (deployments, instances, programme instances)
  • NS-10 Policies and clauses (machine-readable obligations: definition, binding, evaluation and enforcement)
  • NS-11 Verification and monitoring (evidence, attestations, zero-trust conformance observation)
  • NRS-U28 Universe platform profile: Water Nexus
  • NRS-H61 Hazard family: Cascading failure (NHS-1 sys.cascade)
  • NRS-K42 Domain pack profile: Cross border basins (DOMAIN-042)
  • NRS-N1 Water risk and resilience
  • NRS-N7 Water-energy-food-health-biodiversity-infrastructure nexus coupling
  • NRS-H62 Hazard family: Compound and multi-hazard events (NHS-1 sys.compound)

Observation

  • USGS Water Data APIs (listed for reference)
  • GloFAS global flood forecasts and reanalysis (listed for reference)
  • GRACE/GRACE-FO terrestrial water storage mascons (listed for reference)
  • Aqueduct 4.0 Water Risk Atlas (listed for reference)
  • CHIRPS quasi-global gridded precipitation (listed for reference)
  • Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources
  • Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation
  • Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services
  • Number of disruptions to basic services attributed to disasters

Example geography

  • The Ganges and Brahmaputra Basin: 178 hexagonal cells
  • Surface water through cloud, 30 m (OPERA DSWx-S1 radar), NASA GIBS
  • Rain rate, last half hour (IMERG), NASA GIBS
  • Surface soil moisture (SMAP), NASA GIBS
  • Night lights tonight, outages (VIIRS Day/Night Band), NASA GIBS
10Sources

Where the evidence comes from.

Named public datasets and institutional records, each with its licence class. Sources by agreement are used only under their terms and never republished.

SourceWhat it givesLicence class
HydroSHEDS and HydroBASINSCatchment boundaries and river networks derived from elevationFree, attribution and terms
Copernicus DEM and SRTMElevation for delineation and slopeFree and open, attribution
CHIRPS and ERA5Rainfall and atmospheric forcingPublic domain; free and open
MODIS evapotranspirationSatellite evapotranspiration at five hundred metresPublic domain
Global Runoff Data CentreGauged discharge for calibrationData policy
Copernicus land cover and ESA WorldCoverLand cover for runoff parametersFree and open, attribution
11Sector signature

The sector signature of catchment hydrology.

The sectors catchment hydrology touches and how strongly they depend on each other: what a study has to observe and model together.

Select corners · hover lines6 / 15 relations

Signature

Water and its partners

Water gives irrigation to food (0.8), cooling water and hydropower to energy (0.6) and environmental flows to biodiversity (0.6).

W · E · I · F · H · B

Sectors
4 of 6
Relations
6 of 15
Coupling
0.43 share of total

Strongest relations in play

  • Food → Biodiversity · land conversion0.6
  • Water → Energy · cooling water and hydropower0.6
  • Water → Food · irrigation0.8
  • Water → Biodiversity · environmental flows0.6
Teaching values for a typical city-region, not measurements for any place. Coupling is the summed strength of the relations in play, as a share of all fifteen.
12Decisions

Who decides, and what the evidence serves.

Water Nexus prepares evidence. The decisions below are taken by the authorities named, under their own rules, and never by the platform.

Who decidesThe questionEvidence this page serves
Basin authoritiesHow much water the basin yields in a dry year, and how that yield is sharedWater balance with stated error; flow duration curves at the points of allocation
Dam and irrigation operatorsHow inflows respond to a wet or dry season and to land-use change upstreamCalibrated rainfall-runoff model with its test-period skill
Urban drainage authoritiesHow development changes peak runoff and travel timeRunoff coefficients before and after, routing with the new surfaces

Outputs this topic produces

  • Delineated catchments with gauged and ungauged status
  • Closed water balances with error terms
  • Calibrated rainfall-runoff models with test-period skill
  • Regionalised parameters for ungauged basins
13Methods and evidence

How catchment hydrology is modelled, measured and tested.

The model, its assumptions, its data and its uncertainty, in the form a scientist or engineer would check. Structures follow published methods. The values drawn are illustrative, not findings.

System model

The couplings between the systems in catchment hydrology: signs of influence, a reinforcing and a balancing loop, and cross-links where stress jumps.

++−++WaterClimateCritical infrastructureCommunitiesEconomyR reinforcingB balancing
Causal loop diagram from the page’s systems; signs show the direction of influence. Illustrative structure for a system dynamics or network model, not estimated couplings.
FAIR guiding principles · GO FAIR and FORCE11W3C PROV · World Wide Web ConsortiumGuidance on consistent treatment of uncertainties · IPCCCEOS Analysis Ready Data · Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
14Core questions

What experts ask about a catchment.

  • How much precipitation falls, and how much returns to the atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration?
  • How much is stored in snowpack, soil, wetlands, reservoirs and aquifers, and for how long?
  • How quickly does rainfall become streamflow, and what controls peak flows and low flows?
  • How do land use, abstraction and climate change alter each term of the balance?
15Mechanisms

The processes behind the water balance.

Over any period, precipitation equals evapotranspiration plus runoff plus the change in storage, with groundwater flows across the catchment boundary added where they matter. Each term is hard to measure directly. Evapotranspiration depends on energy, vegetation and soil moisture; runoff depends on soil infiltration capacity, slope and antecedent wetness; storage changes slowly in aquifers and quickly in soils.

Climate warming shifts the balance by increasing atmospheric demand for water, changing the timing of snowmelt and altering rainfall intensity. Land change, such as urban paving or deforestation, alters how much water infiltrates and how fast it runs off.

16Methods and data

Observation, models and their limits.

  1. 01

    Observation

    Rain gauges, streamflow gauges, soil moisture probes and groundwater wells, complemented by Earth observation for precipitation, snow, evaporation and storage anomalies. Gauge networks are sparse in many regions and have declined in some.

  2. 02

    Models

    Conceptual and physically based hydrologic models simulate the balance, analysed with hydrology and water science and geospatial information systems. Models calibrated to past conditions may not hold under changed land or climate.

  3. 03

    Uncertainty

    Different models and parameter sets can fit the same record equally well, so results are reported as ranges using uncertainty quantification. Ungauged catchments rely on regionalisation, which adds uncertainty.

19Questions

Questions and answers.

What is an ungauged basin?
A catchment without a flow gauge at its outlet. Its hydrology is estimated by transferring parameters from similar gauged catchments, and the transfer error is stated with the result.
Why does the water balance not close?
Because at least one term is estimated rather than measured, usually evapotranspiration or groundwater exchange. The residual is reported, not hidden in another term.
Can a model calibrated elsewhere be used here?
Only with regionalisation and a stated error. Water Nexus publishes the donor catchments and the transfer method beside any such result.
Why does the water balance rarely close exactly?
Because each term is measured or estimated with error, and some flows, such as deep groundwater exchange, are not observed. The residual is itself useful information about what is missing.
Can satellites replace gauges?
No. Satellites extend coverage and observe quantities gauges cannot, but they need ground observations for calibration and validation, especially for streamflow.
How does Water Nexus treat ungauged catchments?
It transfers information from similar gauged catchments, combines it with satellite observations and reports the wider uncertainty that results. Results for ungauged catchments are labelled as modelled, never as observed.
Does Water Nexus publish catchment models?
Models and maps are designed to appear on models with their documentation and limits as they are reviewed and released.
ReportsContribute

Contribute evidence from this page.

Reports is the Consortium’s quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.

GCRIWater NexusGlobal Sector Risk and ResilienceCountry Systems Risk and ResilienceObservatory Signal
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Editors and the expert reviewers named on each article decide what we publish. Funders and partners do not review or approve articles before publication.

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Articles: CC BY 4.0. Figures, maps, twins and data: CC BY 4.0. Other uses: ask through the permissions form.