Hydrological data management systems within a National River Flow Archive

Abstract

The UK National River Flow Archive (NRFA) is the UK’s focal point for hydrometric data. It provides data and expertise on river flow conditions to the public, to government, and to research and commercial organisations. Quality control and improvement of data, through validation and resolution of monitoring and data issues, is an important focus of its work, with the aim of maximising the utility of the national archive for a wide range of end-users. Recent developments in the NRFA have led to innovative systems for data management, analysis and visualisation. These systems increase the capacity to improve data by integrating river flows with rainfall and other time series data, spatial information such as catchment land use, elevation and geology, and metadata providing information on gauging station quality. Flow data are disseminated alongside detailed metadata ensuring that the end-user can exploit the data effectively, and is aware of any limitations. This model for a hydrological data management system could potentially be applied in other hydrological networks and data archives, both in the UK and internationally.