Global coastal water clarity has increased due to human intervention

This data collection comprises three complementary datasets related to long-term changes in suspended particulate matter (SPM) in global continental coastal waters from 2000 to 2023.The first dataset contains annual mean SPM concentrations derived from satellite-based remote sensing and machine learning models, aggregated across 500 m resolution grid cells within 100 km of coastlines.The second dataset provides annual landward recession distances of high-SPM zones—defined as areas exceeding the global 2000 SPM baseline—at a 0.05° spatial resolution, capturing the spatial shift of turbidity zones over 23 years.The third dataset classifies SPM trend slopes over the 23-year period into five categories (e.g., Further Clearing, Gradually Clearing, Steady, Gradually Turbidifying, Further Turbidifying). The results are spatially stratified at a 0.05° resolution across global coastal regions.