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GlASS - Global Aggregation of Stream Silica

October 20, 2025

Riverine silicon (Si) plays a vital role in governing primary production, water quality, and carbon cycling. Climate and land cover change have altered how dissolved Si (DSi) is processed on land, transported to rivers, and cycled through aquatic ecosystems. The Global Aggregation of Stream Silica (GlASS) database was constructed to assess changes in river Si concentrations and fluxes, their relationship to other nutrients (nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)), and to evaluate mechanisms driving the availability of Si. GlASS includes concentrations of DSi, dissolved inorganic N (NO3, NOx, and NH4), and dissolved inorganic P (as soluble reactive P or PO4-P) at daily to quarterly time steps from 1963 to 2024; daily discharge; and watershed characteristics for 421 rivers spanning eight climate zones. Original data sources are cited, data quality assurance workflows are public, and input files to a common load model are provided. GlASS offers critical data to address questions about patterns, controls, and trajectories of global river Si biogeochemistry and stoichiometry.

Publication Year 2025
Title GlASS - Global Aggregation of Stream Silica
DOI 10.1038/s41597-025-05937-2
Authors Kathi Jo Jankowski, Keira Johnson, Nicholas Lyon, Sidney A. Bush, Paul Julian, Lienne R. Sethna, Diane M. McKnight, William H. McDowell, Adam S. Wymore, Pirkko Kortelainen, Hjalmar Laudon, Ruth C. Heindel, Amanda Poste, Arial J. Shogren, Fred Worrall, Luke Mosley, Pamela L. Sullivan, Joanna C. Carey
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Scientific Data
Index ID 70272653
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
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