Input data is specific to the component models that you use, but typically consists of climate, topography, land use, rainfall, and management practices. Examples of these are provided in Tables 1 and 2.
Table 1. Model calibration and validation (required data sets)
| Base layers and data | Common data formats | Description and use | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Observed flow data preferably at the same time-step as model | Time series | Typically, you can use daily time-step gauging station data (ML/day or m3/s) in the hydrological calibration/validation process, or as a substitute for modelled runoff as an observed flow time series at relevant nodes. You need to assess the length of time for which records are available, data quality and data gaps to determine how use the data sets are for calibration/validatio. It is preferable to have data sets that are at least 10 years in duration and that cover both wet and dry periods.
| |
| Observed water quality data | Time series | Data used in the water quality calibration/validation process. You need to assess the length of time for which records are available, data quality and data gaps to determine how useful the data sets are for calibration/validation. It is preferable to have data sets that cover both storm event and ambient conditions that include both wet and dry periods. | |
| Existing reports | Report or spreadsheet | Existing reports for the region may assist in hydrology and water quality calibration process, eg. load estimation. |
Table 2. Optional data sets
| Optional data sets | Common data formats | Description and use | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visualisation layers (eg. roads, towns, soils, streams) | Polygons, polylines or points | You can add (drag and drop) additional layers into the Layer Manager and turn these layers on or off as required. These layers are not used in model development and are more a visualisation tool. The layers need to have the same projection and resolution as the DEM or sub-catchment map (but can have different extents). | |
| Aerial and satellite imagery | Image |
The layers need to have the same projection and resolution as the DEM or sub-catchment map (but can have different extents). | |
| Local or relevant data on best management practices | Reports or spreadsheets | This includes information on locally-relevant best management practices that could be used when creating scenarios. | |
| Existing hydrology and water quality reports and data | Relevant format |
|
Note that all spatial data must use the same supported projections:
- Albers Equal Area Comical;
- Lambert Conic Conformal; or
- Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM);
The exception is SILO gridded climate data, which is formatted in a geographic coordinate system.
Table 3 summarises the minimum necessary and optional input data needed to create a catchment model using Source.
Table 3. Building models (required data sets)
| Base layers and data | Common data formats | Description and use | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Elevation Model (DEM) | Grid | A pit-filled DEM is used to compute the sub-catchment boundaries and node-link networks. Source can automatically generate sub-catchment boundaries according to a user-specified minimum drainage area (stream threshold) and flow gauging station positions. Selecting a small minimum sub-catchment area value will generate a large number of sub-catchments. This will increase the size of the project and run-time. | |
| Sub-catchment map | Grid | A sub-catchment map can be used in place of a DEM. This defines the sub-catchment boundaries within Source. You then need to draw the node-link network for the catchment. | |
| Functional Unit (FU) map | Grid | A functional unit (FU) map divides the sub-catchment into areas of similar hydrological behaviour or response (eg. land use). Source uses FU maps to assign functional unit areas. The FU map needs to have the same projection and resolution as the DEM or sub-catchment map (but it can have different extents, provided the FU map at least covers the extent of the sub-catchment defined by the modeller. | |
| Gauging station nodes | Point | Optionally, a shape file or ASCII text file that lists the gauging station coordinates, and an identifier such as gauge name or number that is used to define gauging station nodes. The coordinates of the gauges need to be in the same proejction as the DEM or sub-catchment map.
| |
| Rainfall and PET data | Grid or time series | Rainfall and potential evapotranspiration (PET) time series are used as inputs to the rainfall-runoff models. The most commonly-used files are SILO daily rainfall-runoff and PET ASCII grids. Using a daily ASCII grid format allows you to update the rainfall data at a later stage and re-run the model. Table 39 shows the format of the input data required. If local data is available, you can also attach your own rainfall data files to rainfall runoff models for each FU within a sub-catchment. | |
| Point source data (if storages are to be modelled) | Time series | Outflow and/or constituent data. The time series needs to have the same time-step, an should be run for at least the same duration, as the climate or flow inputs to the model. | |
| Storage details (if storages are to be modelled) | Time series | Includes coordinates, maximum storage volume, depth/surface area volume relationship, observed inflow and outflow data, losses, extractions, release rules, dam specifications, gates, valves, etc. | |
| Stream network layer (optional) | Polyline |
| |
| USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) and/or gully density layers (optional) | Grid | Can be used to spatially vary EMC/DWC values in the constituent generation process (use the Scale EMCs and DWCs with the Hazard Map constituent generation method available through the /wiki/spaces/SD516/pages/54987113 plugin). The layers need to have the same projection and resolution as the DEM or sub-catchmetn map (but can have different extents). |
Data formats
For gridded spatial data files, formats should be in ESRI text format (.ASC) or ESRI binary interchange (.FLT). Vector data should be in shape files. Gridded rainfall data can be ordered from either:
It is recommended that overlaying Digital Elevation Models (DEM), functional units or sub-catchments have the same projection and resolution (but they can have different extents).
Zero-padded data
Certain file formats require data to be zero-padded. In Table 4, the first column represents months, and is not zero-padded. Some applications will sort this data as is shown in the second column. The third column is zero-padded and sorts correctly.
Table 4. Zero-padded data (sorting example)
| Non-zero padded data | Default sorting order | Zero-padding (always sorts correctly) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 001 |
| 2 | 10 | 002 |
| 10 | 100 | 010 |
| 20 | 2 | 020 |
| 100 | 20 | 100 |
| 120 | 200 | 120 |
Time and dates in data files
The TIME framework (used by Source) uses a subset of the ISO-8601 standard. The central part of this subset is the use of the format string:
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss
Dates should comply with the ISO 8601 standard where possible but more compact formats will be read if unambiguous. For example:
- the dates 24/01/2000 (Australian) and 01/24/2000 (USA) are unambiguous; but
- the date 2/01/2000 is ambiguous and depends on the local culture settings of the host machine.
The TIME framework will always write dates in the following format and it is recommended that you follow the same format and use zero padding within dates. For example, "2000-01-02" is preferred over "2000-1-1" to avoid ambiguity.:
yyyy-MM-dd
Annual data can often be entered by omitting a day number and using month number 01 (eg 01/1995; 01/1996).
Where a date-time specifier only contains a date, the reading is assumed to have occurred at time 00:00:00.0 on that date.
The smallest time-step that Source can currently handle is one second. When reading a data file, Source examines the first few lines to detect the date-time format and time-step of the time series:
- If the format is ISO 8601 compliant, this format will be used to read all subsequent dates;
- Failing that, an attempt is made to detect the dates and time-step with English-Australia ("en-AU") settings, for backward-compatibility reasons; and
- Last, the computer configuration is used for regional and language settings.
Predicted or calculated data
The predictions produced by an integrated model developed with Source depend on the selected component models. Example outputs include flow and constituent loads as a time series.
Missing entries
Missing entries are usually specified as -9999. Empty strings or white space are usually also read as missing values. Occasionally, other sentinel values are used, such as "-1?" in IQQM files.
Decimal points
Always use a period (".", ASCII 0x2E) as a decimal separator for numerical values, irrespective of the local culture/language/locale settings for Windows.