Global-scale human pressure evolution imprints  on sustainability of river systems

Ceola, Serena; Laio, Francesco; Montanari, Alberto

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3933-2019

Articles | Volume 23, issue 9

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3933-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3933-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 23, issue 9

Research article

| Highlight paper

|

25 Sep 2019

Research article | Highlight paper |

| 25 Sep 2019

Global-scale human pressure evolution imprints on sustainability of river systems

Serena Ceola, Francesco Laio, and Alberto Montanari

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3933-2019-supplement

Data sets

Version 4 DMSP-OLS Nighttime Lights Time Series NOAA http://ngdc.noaa.gov/eog/dmsp/downloadV4composites.html

Data from: Global terrestrial Human Footprint maps for 1993 and 2009, v2, Dryad O. Venter, E. W. Sanderson, A. Magrach, J. R. Allan, J. Beher, K. R. Jones, H. P. Possingham, W. F. Laurance, P. Wood, B. M. Fekete, M. A. Levy, and J. E. M. Watson https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.052q5

Short summary

A simple and effective index for the quantitative estimation of the evolution of human pressure on rivers at global scale is proposed. This index, based on nightlights and river discharge data, shows a significant increase from 1992 to 2013 worldwide. The most notable changes are found in river basins across Africa and Asia, where human pressure on rivers is growing markedly. This index identifies priority areas that can be targeted for the implementation of mitigation strategies and plans.