Running scenarios

Introduction

A Source scenario must be run in order to produce any useful information. Each scenario run produces a collection of result sets. A result set is a group of related outputs, usually from the same component and is usually, but not always, arranged as a time series.

During a run, each component in the scenario can produce one or more result sets in the form of predicted water flows, volumes and other outputs specific to that component. Some components are capable of producing more than 20 separate result sets. When ownership is not enabled, the model starts at the first node then progresses down the river system in a single pass to compute the water volume and flow rates through each node and link.

Running a scenario

Note: There are several user-configurable options in Source that can be used to increase performance (ie. reduce scenario run times) by changing the way Source runs the model. See Improving Performance for details.

To run a scenario, do the following:

Select the recorded parameters (model outputs) of interest in the Project Hierarchy and Parameter pane. See below.
- Some model outputs are selected by default; these can be turned off by right-clicking on the Scenario's name and selecting Record None; return to these defaults by selecting Set to Recording Defaults

Click Select Analysis Type on the Simulation toolbar to set the appropriate type of analysis. Depending on the scenario, Source offers several options for analysing your model data, including:
- Flow calibration analysis, which calibrates a set of rainfall-runoff and flow routing model parameter values so that output from the model is representative of an observed data set;
- Run w/Warm Up, which seeds the model with the available historical data and prepares for forecasting. This is enabled in River Operations scenarios only;
- Single analysis, which simulates the river performance for a single set of conditions (as opposed to an iterative analysis which considers several possible outcomes); or
- Stochastic analysis, which is used to generate flow replicates from stochastically generated rainfall inputs when dealing with stochastic climate data. See also Incorporating uncertainty into climate variability.
Click Configure on the Simulation toolbar to select the required time frame for the scenario to run. The resulting window depends on the type of analysis you chose in the previous step.
If you chose:

Flow Calibration analysis, the Calibration Wizard opens. Refer to Calibration Wizard for catchments;
Run w/Warm Up, the Run w/Warm Up window opens when you run an Operations scenario;
Single analysis, the Single Analysis window opens (Figure 2). If constituents have been configured in the scenario, the Constituents tab will be enabled where you can choose to run constituents over a selected date range or over the entire time range (using the Restrict checkbox shown in Figure 3)
Stochastic analysis, the Stochastic Analysis Tool opens.

You can only configure a run time frame that is supported by the time spans in the time series associated with your scenario. A lowest-common-denominator approach is used. For example, if your project contains two time series where the first spans the period 1/1/1900 through 31/12/1990, and the second, the period 1/1/1960 through 21/12/2010, the available simulation time frame will be 1/1/1960 through 31/12/1990.

Click Run on the Simulation toolbar to start the simulation run.

Figure 1. Configure single analysis

Performance Improvement

Networks with multiple outlet nodes (Figure 2) can be configured to run separate networks simultaneously by selecting Run Separate Networks in Parallel (Figure 1). This should not be selected as an option if there are calculation dependencies across the separate networks, e.g. Subnetwork 2 calls a function which involves a value from Subnetwork 1.

Figure 2. Example of geographic and schematic scenarios with multiple outlets

Figure 3. Running constituents

Figure 4 shows the dialog when you configure a linked scenario (using a Scenario transfer node).

Figure 4. Running linked scenarios

A progress bar indicates running times during a scenario run (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Running scenario (progress bar)

Recording parameters

When you run a scenario, every node and link produces results in the form of predicted water flows, volumes and other data outputs. To view or save these model outputs after the run, you need to select them to record before you run. When you save a project, or make a copy of a scenario, Source automatically saves the list of model outputs selected for recording. There are two ways to select which parameters and model elements to record, using the Project Hierarchy to select model parameters at the component level (eg. links, nodes), or more fine-grained parameter-level control in the Parameter pane.

Performance Improvement

Before running the scenario, give consideration to the required output and only record the parameters of interest. Some node or link types can produce more than 20 separate data outputs (eg. storages). In general, the more outputs you record, the longer the simulation will take, though this depends on exactly what you record; recording mass-balance is more computationally intensive than recording inflow, for example.

Component-level controls

For a given scenario run, you can select which outputs will be recorded using the component's contextual menu or the Record icon in the Project Explorer toolbar:

Using the Project Explorer, right-click a node, link or other element in the Project Hierarchy (Figure 6). From the contextual menu, select:

Record All – every parameter at this level and below will be recorded;
Record none – no parameters at this level and below will be recorded;
If the indicator appears as , this shows that some (not all) parameters at this level and below will be recorded.
Restore the model parameters for a component to their default value - choose Set to Recording Defaults.

If you select a model element on the Geographic Editor or Schematic Editor (eg a catchment outlet), then the chosen model element is highlighted in the Project Hierarchy. Right-click the element name and select the recording status from the contextual menu, or click the Record icon in the Project Explorer toolbar.

Figure 6. Selecting recording parameters

Parameter-level controls

For fine-grained control of individual recordable parameters (Figure 7):

Select the component within the Project Hierarchy. Selection causes all of the component’s parameters to be displayed in the Parameters area; and
Use the contextual menu to enable or disable individual parameters or parameter groups, or to restore parameters to their default settings.

Figure 7. Selecting model parameters

Note: The contextual menus shown in Figures 6 and 7 can be applied at any point within their respective hierarchical displays. If you select an individual component or parameter, the effect will be limited to just that element. Applying a recording choice at an aggregate level propagates the effect to the selected element and all elements below it in the hierarchy.

Using the Log Reporter

If a scenario run results in errors or warnings, the first indication of those is displayed in the Run completion dialog by a red or yellow icon next to the Close button as indicated in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Running scenario (error)

You can investigate the causes of errors or warnings using the Log reporter (Figure 8). If the Log Reporter window is not visible, do either or both of the following:

Choose View » Log Reporter to make it visible; and/or
Make the Log Reporter active by clicking the Log Reporter tab.

Once the Log Reporter is active, you can view all the logs run by Source, from configuring a scenario to running it. You can clear the log or export its contents to a .csv file using the contextual menu (as shown in Figure 8). Table 1 provides a description of each of the columns in the Log Reporter.

Figure 8. Log Reporter

Table 1. Log Reporter, Columns

Column	Description
Date	The local date on the computer.
Run	The run number. You can also filter messages based on this number - use the filtering icon.
Level	The type of message (similar to the type available in notes) - informational, warning or error. See Message Type.
Time Step	The scenario time-step which the message refers to.
Name	Name of the node or link corresponding to the message.
Model Type	These are the node and link types – ie. Inflow, Straight Through Routing
Message	Details of the message.
Message Type	There are three types available: Admin - These are general administration messages and are generally logged from non-runtime sources such as an inability to parse a function; Note - These are generated from the notes added throughout the system; and Run time - These are generated throughout the simulation run.

Execution order rules

During a scenario run, components of the scenario are run in a particular order to ensure that they comply with in-built Simulation phases and execution order rules.

Note: The execution order is based on leaf node names alphabetically. Thus, renaming a node can change the order.

You can modify the execution order for a scenario as follows:

Choose Edit » Execution Order Rules... to open the Execution Order Rules dialog (shown in Figure 9);
In the Rules tab, click Add Rule;
Specify the first and second nodes using the drop-down menus; and
Click OK to activate the rules and close the dialog.

Rules can also be enabled or disabled using the checkboxes.

Figure 9. Execution order rules

Once you have specified the execution order rules, you view them in one of two ways:

Use the Execution Order tab (shown in Figure 9). Click Refresh to update the view after changes are made in the Rules tab; or
Choose View » Execution Order... to open the Execution Order dialog (similar to Figure 10). While open, this dialog gets updated when changes are made to the scenario in the main Editor window.

Figure 10. Execution order

Scenario results

Note: Results of a scenario run can be viewed in the Recording manager or using the Results Manager.

Each scenario run creates a distinct collection of result sets. Each collection is represented by a tab in the Recording Manager. The name of each tab is formed by concatenating the name of the scenario with a time-stamp indicating when the scenario was run. For example, Figure 11 shows that "Scenario 1" has been run twice at slightly different times.

Figure 11. Recording Manager

You can use the tools on the Recording Manager toolbar to save a collection of results to a file, export a collection to Microsoft Excel, or delete the currently-selected collection.

Within each of the Recording Manager’s tabs, results are arranged in four columns:

Type - Source generic name for node or link (eg Inflow);
Name - your name for that component;
Attribute - the name of the output parameter as listed in Parameters (eg Additional Inflow); and
Values - a link which can be clicked to view a graphical representation of the output parameter.

You can navigate through a list of results using the vertical scroll bar. In addition, clicking on a link or node in the Schematic Editor, Geographic Editor or Project Hierarchy automatically selects all of the result sets associated with that component in the Recording Manager.

Right clicking in the Recording Manager, then choosing Save Selected allows you to export the selected time series data as a .csv file. Choosing View Selected opens the Charting Tool for the selected time series data.

One of the key uses of the Recording Manager is to select one or more result sets (rows in the Recording Manager) for display in the Charting Tool. The Charting Tool helps you visualise, analyse and understand scenario results and other data produced by Source. Each time you click a link in the Values column, a copy of the Charting Tool opens to display that result set. Clicking the same link multiple times opens additional copies of the Charting Tool containing the same result set.

You can also use the Chart Recording Manager to view and manage result sets. Refer to Chart Recording Manager for more information.

Identifying constraints

When constraints are enforced, there may be a difference between the amount of water ordered and that released. The application of constraints is evident at both the supply point and minimum flow requirement nodes.

To discover where constraints have been applied:

Run the model;
Select an appropriate supply point or minimum flow requirement node. This selects all of the node’s recording parameters in the Recording Manager; and
Inspect the Values column in the Recording Manager and click an Order Details link. This opens a Complex Time Series Form (Figure 12). The Graph tab provides a summary of the differences between the amount ordered and the amount released for the duration of the run. The Constraints column of the Table tab (Figure 13) provides a breakdown per time-step. Hover your mouse cursor over a cell of interest to see its contents presented in a tool tip.