Lake networks and connectivity metrics for the conterminous U.S. (LAGOS-US NETWORKS v1)

Abstract

Identifying lake networks and knowing the degree of surface-water connectivity among lakes can help scientists better understand and predict the movement of abiotic materials and biota within networks. Quantifying broad-scale networks that include lake and stream connections is difficult computationally. Starting from the medium resolution National Hydrography Dataset's lakes, streams, and rivers, we applied a graph theory approach to identify lake networks, a set of lakes connected by streams both upstream and downstream. The LAGOS-US NETWORKS v1 module contains four data tables, one of which includes derived surface-water connectivity metrics for lakes (n = 86,511 lakes ≥ 1 ha in surface area) and networks (n = 898) within the conterminous United States, including dams. The NETWORKS module also includes a flow table as well as a bidirectional and a unidirectional distance table that provide the stream course distances between every connected lake. Finally, this module includes a detailed User Guide.