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The Stream-Catchment (StreamCat) Dataset: A database of watershed metrics for the conterminous USA
Citation:
Hill, R., M. Weber, S. Leibowitz, Tony Olsen, AND D. Thornbrugh. The Stream-Catchment (StreamCat) Dataset: A database of watershed metrics for the conterminous USA. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION. American Water Resources Association, Middleburg, VA, , 9, (2015).
Impact/Purpose:
We developed an extensive database of landscape metrics for ~2.65 million streams, and their associated catchments, within the conterminous USA: The Stream-Catchment (StreamCat) Dataset. This dataset summarizes nearby and upstream landscape features for these streams, and includes both natural (e.g., climate, soils, and lithology) and anthropogenic (e.g., urbanization, agriculture, and dams) landscape features. The dataset currently contains 176 landscape metrics, but more will be added as they become available. These data will be made available to the public for download and will greatly reduce the specialized geospatial expertise needed by researchers and managers to extract an extensive suite of watershed characteristics for stream segments of interest. This paper is a companion to the StreamCat Dataset and provides an overview of its development and main features. The paper points to the URL home of the dataset (ftp://newftp.epa.gov/EPADataCommons/ORD/StreamCat), which also contains extensive metadata. The StreamCat Dataset will be used by ORD to develop national maps of aquatic condition and watershed integrity. It may also be of use to Office of Water for a number of applications, including modeling reference condition for National Rivers and Streams Assessment sample sites.
Description:
We developed an extensive database of landscape metrics for ~2.65 million streams, and their associated catchments, within the conterminous USA: The Stream-Catchment (StreamCat) Dataset. These data are publically available and greatly reduce the specialized geospatial expertise needed to acquire landscape information at specific streams for both researchers and managers. When combined with an existing geospatial framework of the Nation’s rivers and streams (National Hydrography Dataset Plus Version 2), the distribution of stream characteristics and conditions can be visualized for the conterminous USA. In this article, we document the development and main features of this dataset, including the suite of landscape features that were used to develop the data, scripts and algorithm used to accumulate and produce watershed summaries of landscape features, and the quality assurance procedures used to ensure data consistency. The StreamCat Dataset provides an important tool for stream researchers and managers to understand and characterize the Nation’s rivers and streams.
