LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0: Data module of location, identifiers, and physical characteristics of lakes and their watersheds in the conterminous U.S.

Macroscale studies of aquatic ecosystems are needed to address many contemporary broad-scale problems related to global change, particularly to inform national-scale environmental policies. In this data paper, we fill two important gaps in data availability for lakes at the scale of the conterminous U.S., the lack of: (1) high-resolution geographic representations of lakes and their watersheds and (2) an open data platform to connect disparate U.S. national-scale lake datasets. We describe the LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 data module that includes a detailed User Guide, which is part of the LAGOS-US extensible research-ready open data platform. This platform can be used to study the 479,950 lakes and reservoirs larger than or equal to 1 ha across the entire conterminous U.S. at multiple scales of space and time. The LOCUS module includes spatially-explicit information on lakes and their watersheds, including location information, physical characteristics, and identifiers of other important national-scale datasets.

Automated summary

This study addresses the need for macro-scale studies of aquatic ecosystems to tackle broad-scale problems related to global change, specifically in informing national-scale environmental policies. The data paper introduces the LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 data module, which provides detailed information on lakes and reservoirs in the conterminous U.S. The open data platform allows for the study of these water bodies at multiple scales of space and time.