LAGOS-US GEO v1.0: Data module of lake geospatial ecological context at multiple spatial and temporal scales in the conterminous U.S.

The LAGOS-US GEO data package is one of the core data modules of LAGOS-US, an extensible research-ready platform designed to study the 479,950 lakes and reservoirs larger than or equal to 1 ha in the conterminous US (48 states plus the District of Columbia). The GEO module contains data on the geospatial and temporal ecological setting (e.g., land use, terrain, soils, climate, hydrology, atmospheric deposition, and human influence) quantified at multiple spatial divisions (e.g., equidistant buffers around lakes, watersheds, hydrologic basins, political boundaries, and ecoregions) relevant to the LAGOS-US lake population defined in the LAGOS-US LOCUS module. The database design that supports the LAGOS-US research platform was created based on several important design features: lakes are the fundamental unit of consideration, all lakes in the spatial extent above the minimum size must be represented, and most information is connected to individual lakes. The design is modular, interoperable (the modules can be used with each other), and extensible (future database modules can be developed and used in the LAGOS-US research platform by others). Users are encouraged to use the other two core data modules that are part of the LAGOS-US platform: LOCUS (location, identifiers, and physical characteristics of lakes and their watersheds) and LIMNO (in situ lake physical, chemical, and biological measurements through time) that are each found in their own data packages.