Building Input Files

[anonymous34]

How are the input files for Raven created? Are they created manually from templates or is there a way to automatically generate them?

[rchlumsk]

Currently the files are created manually from templates, which can be found in the appendices of the Raven manual. There is a project in progress to create a GUI for Raven (called RavenView), which will allow the files to be generated more easily (among other tasks).

Note that there is a basic Excel file that can be used for semi-manual management of input and output files, which can be found in the Tutorials package.

[anonymous34]

How is the watershed delineated to create subbasins and HRUs?

[rchlumsk]

How is the watershed delineated to create subbasins and HRUs?

The watershed can be delineated in a few different ways, all of which typically involve the use of GIS software to process the data. One way is to use the ArcHydro (or similar) extension, which has algorithms for watershed delineation. Note that this algorithm requires stream input data.

Another tool is the watershed delineation tool in SWAT, which can be accessed through ArcSWAT (free to download; also available in open source programs such as MapWindow, MWSWAT). The watershed delineation tool for SWAT requires a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), as well as landuse and soil classes for data, and a couple of parameters that are user defined to create the watershed. Stream data is not required; the streams are automatically generated in this algorithm.

The critical information generated by the GIS software is included in the .rvh file, and includes HRU areas/memberships/coordinates and subbasin connectivity information.

More on ArcSWAT (http://swat.tamu.edu/software/arcswat/) and MWSWAT (http://www.waterbase.org/download_mwswat.html) in these links.

[anonymous34]

Is it possible to determine the geometry of HRUs and/or subbasins from input files? If no, what assumptions go into interpolating gauge data?

[rchlumsk]

Is it possible to determine the geometry of HRUs and/or subbasins from input files? If no, what assumptions go into interpolating gauge data?

No, the only geographic information for the HRUs/subbasins is the longitude and latitude found in the rvh file. The subbasin/HRUs are determined from GIS data, which does contain geometries, but the geometry is not kept in the model input once subbasin/HRU IDs and centroid coordinates have been determined.

The key assumption for interpolating gauge data is that the HRU is homogenous in response to forcing functions, and that the forcing functions are uniform across the HRUs. In the case where the HRUs are very large, oblong or irregularly shaped, these assumptions may not hold true.

[anonymous34]

How do you specify which subbasin is used for diagnostics? (is it simply based on the order that they appear in, from the subbasin gauge flags in rvh file and order of gauges in rvt file?)

[rchlumsk]

How do you specify which subbasin is used for diagnostics? (is it simply based on the order that they appear in, from the subbasin gauge flags in rvh file and order of gauges in rvt file?)

In the rvt file for observed flows, the first line of the file contains the ID of the subbasin outlet corresponding to the station. This is used when the diagnostics are run.

[Symona]

Hello,
is their any chance that water moving between storages (as in SOIL[0] and SOIL[1]) could also be described by the :Baseflow processes instead of just :Flush, :Overflow, :Percolation and :CapillaryRise?

[rchlumsk]

Hi Symona

In the manual it states that baseflow always moves water into surface water, so I don't believe that using a baseflow process to move water between soil compartments is possible. Is that what you were hoping to do?

Rob