The data set contains grain size distributions, organic matter (OM) contents and trace metals distribution metal distribution (Fe, Zn, Cu, Cr and Pb) of seven (7) shallow cores of sediments from the Notwane Dam (southern Botswana). The cores have been collected with a push corer using PVC pipes of 5 cm diameter by a team from BIUST led by Dr. Franchi between November 2017 and February 2018. The data were collected as part of the PULA project, which aimed at understanding the immediate effect of heavy rainfall and floods on water resources in arid Botswana and their transitional hydrologic readjustment towards the dry period, and the role of these events in supporting either or both resources replenishment and contamination. Grain size profiles of the cores have been obtained by analyzing wet sediments with a laser diffraction particle size analyzer. The OM content of the sediments was obtained by measuring the loss on ignition (LOI) of bulk sediments after calcination in a muffle furnace. The sediments have been analyzed for trace metal distribution using a Microwave Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometer (MP-AES). The grain size distribution has allowed to pinpoint the presence of flood couplets, characterized by coarse lags followed by fine grained materials. The trace metal distribution profiles have been compared with the flood couplets to assess the entity of metal mobilization during floods and subsequent droughts. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/022b3fff-55d7-46f5-b11f-2f7366e508b0

This dataset contains detailed records of snowpack characteristics near Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, between 21st and 31st March 2023. They were recorded in ten snow pits before in-situ tracer percolation experiments, and the records include location and overview photos of each pit, snow height, snow temperature, snow density, detailed snow stratigraphy observations, and stable water isotope signatures from the snow surface to the ground. The records were obtained by Dorothea Moser as part of an experimental field project ("Wet Fingerprints") to contextualise the results of the subsequently conducted tracer percolation experiments. The project was supported by an Arctic Field Grant through the Norwegian Research Council (Project No. 342165, Research in Svalbard RiS ID 12132). Dorothea Elisabeth Moser was supported by BAS Cambridge and the NERC C-CLEAR Doctoral Training Programme (grant no. NE/S007164/1).

The data set contains grain size distributions, organic matter (OM) content and trace metal distribution (including Fe, Zn, Cu, Cr and Pb) of 37 shallow cores of sediments sampled from dams across the Limpopo River Basin. The dams include: Gaborone, Lotsane and Shashe dams in Botswana; Houtrivier, Nwanedi and Mutshedzi dams in South Africa; Ripple Creek and Zhovhe dams in Zimbabwe; and Massingir Dam in Mozambique. Data from two cores sampled from an oxbow lake in Mozambique are also included. The cores were collected with a gravity corer using PVC pipes of 5 cm diameter by a team from Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) led by Dr. Franchi between July 2018 and April 2021. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/b8db8239-3bde-454a-aa75-d1cec24c8763