As part of its core activities and commitment to bridging data gaps to advance global water data accessibility and hydrological research, the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (ICWRGC) hosts two global data centres, the GEMS/Water Data Centre (GWDC) and the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN). ICWRGC is pleased to announce significant updates from these data centres in 2024.
GWDC
GWDC hosts the Global Freshwater Quality database GEMStat for the UN Environment Programme. Data in GEMStat is provided by national and regional administration in charge of water quality monitoring. As of February 2025, GEMStat holds 29.6 million measurements from over 20,000 stations in 91 countries. 640 different water parameters are covered.
In 2024, 1.1 million new measurements were added as well as around 400 new stations in Canada and Uruguay. Data submissions were implemented from:
- Canada
- Japan
- Republic of Korea
- Russia
- Uruguay
For Uruguay, this was the first data submission to GEMStat. Germany and the European Environmental Agency also submitted data that are currently being processed.
Worldmap showing stations for which GEMStat and ISMN received updates in 2024.
ISMN
ISMN serves as a global reference database for in situ soil moisture observations. It collaborates with several international scientific networks and institutions to ensure reliable data access and delivery. In 2024, ISMN expanded with six new networks, enhancing global soil moisture data coverage. These include CW3E (USA, 24 stations), RU-ADDferti (Germany, 30 stations), BfG_Nw (Germany, 1 station), WATERLINE (Greece, 3 stations), WIT-Network (Pakistan, 13 stations), and LABFLUX (Italy, 4 stations), providing data at depths from 5 cm to 105 cm.
ISMN also updated datasets for 331 stations across networks in Europe and the USA, ensuring stakeholders have access to the latest information from 2023 to 2024. Additionally, its near-real-time (NRT) network, with over 1,000 stations, expanded in 2024 by integrating SOILSCAPE and CW3E into its routine, further strengthening ISMN’s role in global in situ soil moisture observations data delivery.
ICWRGC supports advancement of FAIR data
These developments reflect ICWRGC’s mission to support scientific research, water management, and climate resilience by ensuring that top grade water quality and soil moisture data is freely accessible to stakeholders worldwide through GWDC and ISMN and the application of the FAIR data principles is actively promoted. We look forward to a continued collaboration and further enhancements in global water data accessibility.
