Abstract
Freshwater salinization (FS) is a threat to freshwater ecosystems, but its impact remains relatively
poorly understood compared to other stressors (e.g. nutrient pollution), with some regions (e.g.
Asia, Africa) remaining poorly explored. To assess how pervasive this issue is globally and identify
salinization hotspots, we compiled global data on river salinity and associated ions. We retrieved
information from different sources, harmonized it and merged it with HydroATLAS watersheds. Our
global data set (GlobSalt) features 13 parameters, including electrical conductivity (EC), major ions,
and nutrients. GlobSalt contains approximately fifteen million records on a monthly scale for river
stations from 1980 to 2023 from all continents except Antarctica. The global median EC was 509 ± 205μS cm−1, with 60% of rivers falling in the range of 50 to 500 μS cm−1, which is within the salinity niche of most freshwater organisms. We found a large spatial variability in EC, with some regions such as
the Mediterranean, the Midwest of the US, arid regions of Argentina and Chile and Southwestern
Australia having high mean salinity values. Temporally, EC was fairly stable. GlobSalt represents a
critical resource for improving our understanding of FS dynamics, identifying regions at high risk and informing management strategies.
poorly understood compared to other stressors (e.g. nutrient pollution), with some regions (e.g.
Asia, Africa) remaining poorly explored. To assess how pervasive this issue is globally and identify
salinization hotspots, we compiled global data on river salinity and associated ions. We retrieved
information from different sources, harmonized it and merged it with HydroATLAS watersheds. Our
global data set (GlobSalt) features 13 parameters, including electrical conductivity (EC), major ions,
and nutrients. GlobSalt contains approximately fifteen million records on a monthly scale for river
stations from 1980 to 2023 from all continents except Antarctica. The global median EC was 509 ± 205μS cm−1, with 60% of rivers falling in the range of 50 to 500 μS cm−1, which is within the salinity niche of most freshwater organisms. We found a large spatial variability in EC, with some regions such as
the Mediterranean, the Midwest of the US, arid regions of Argentina and Chile and Southwestern
Australia having high mean salinity values. Temporally, EC was fairly stable. GlobSalt represents a
critical resource for improving our understanding of FS dynamics, identifying regions at high risk and informing management strategies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 18701 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-14 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Scientific Reports |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2025 |
