WMS:Hydrologic Modeling Wizard Overview

The WMS Hydrologic Modeling Wizard () is a simple tool that walks you through all the steps involved in creating a hydrologic model. It can be accessed by selecting the hydrologic modeling wizard tool in the get data toolbar ().

Steps

The following steps are included in the hydrologic modeling wizard:

Project Filename

The project filename step is used for defining a project filename. This filename is used when saving files from the hydrologic modeling wizard.

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Save – This button saves the project in your current state.

Define Project Bounds

The define project bounds step is used for defining your project boundary.

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Top Define button – This button is used to define your project coordinate system, if it is known.

Bottom Define button – This button is used to define your project boundary in the Microsoft Virtual Earth web service client. Find the area you are interested in modeling and WMS will enter the minimum and maximum coordinates of the box you have defined in the Virtual Earth window.

Watershed Data

The watershed data step is used for defining how you will read data into WMS. You can obtain data using the WMS web service client, a catalog file, or by simply opening files.

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Open file button – Use this button in the same way as the File | Open command in the WMS menus. After selecting this button, a file browser appears and WMS opens the files you select.

Web services – WMS will use the built-in web service client for obtaining data for watershed modeling.

Catalog file – WMS will use a catalog file for obtaining data for watershed modeling.

Download Data

The download data (web service client) step is used to download data over the internet using the WMS web service client if a web service is available. NED and SRTM data may be downloaded from this dialog, but coverage may not exist or download times may be slow for your hydrologic modeling area. The NED and SRTM data are obtained from USGS databases. The Terraserver data are obtained from the Microsoft Research (MSR) Maps web service.

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Download Data From Web – This button downloads the selected datasets for your selected modeling area from the web service providers.

Read Data

The read data from catalog step is used to select and read data from a WMS catalog.

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Read Data From Catalog – This button reads data from the catalog inside your selected project boundary.

Compute Flow Directions and Flow Accumulations

The Compute Flow Directions and Flow Accumulations step is used for running TOPAZ to compute flow directions and accumulations.

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Compute TOPAZ flow data and... – You can choose either to write your TOPAZ output to a specific directory or to the temp directory. Most frequently, you will just write your TOPAZ output to a temp directory.

Units – Use the units combo boxes to define your model's computation units.

Compute Topaz – This button runs TOPAZ using the settings you have selected.

Choose Outlet Locations

The Choose Outlet Locations step is used to define, move, or delete outlet locations.

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Create, Select, and Delete outlet point buttons – To create an outlet point, select the tool you want to use and then click on a flow accumulation cell. To select an outlet point, select the tool and click on a point or drag a point. To delete a point, select a tool and select an outlet point to delete.

In the HY-8 Modeling Wizard, this dialog has a Define Outlets from Culvert Locations button. This button defines an outlet at the point on a flow accumulation cell that is closest to the upstream end of the culvert arc.

Delineate Watershed

The Delineate Watershed step is used to delineate a watershed.

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Stream threshold value – This value is used to modify the stream density. Lower values will cause the streams to be more dense while higher values will create fewer streams in the completed model.

Apply to Display – Select this button to apply the stream threshold value entered to the display.

Create Tc Coverage – If this toggle is selected, a Time Computation coverage containing an arc with the longest flow path is created after delineating the watershed and sub-basins.

Units – This button is used to define your model and computation coordinates and units. You can turn on the option to create a Tc coverage and change which data is computed by selecting the Drain Data Compute Opts... button in the Units dialog.

Sub-divide Watershed – This button subdivides your watershed into sub-basins based on the maximum sub-basin area entered.

Delineate Watershed – This button delineates the watershed and computes each sub-basin's data based on the selected watershed delineation parameters.

After delineating a watershed, it is possible to manually edit the extents of the watershed.

Select Model

The Select Model step is used for defining which model you are running with your delineated watershed.

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Initialize Model Data – Click on this button to set your model to the selected option, initialize your model data to default values, and set the module to the correct module.

Define and Smooth Streams

When you are building a GSSHA model, you need to define the parameters for and smooth all the streams in your model before building the 2D Grid. When the 2D grid is generated, the elevations on cells intersecting stream arcs will be made to match the stream arc channel depth elevations (the stream arc channel depth elevation along the stream = the stream elevation + the channel depth elevation entered in the GSSHA Feature Arc Type dialog).

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Select one or more streams – This button selects the select feature arc tool. After this tool is selected, you can select one or more stream arcs and edit the attributes or smooth the selected stream arcs.

Select a stream branch – This button selects the select stream branch tool. This is a specialized tool that selects a stream arc and any arcs upstream from the selected arc. This tool is useful for selecting an entire stream network or a branch of a stream network.

Set Selected Arc Attributes – This button brings up the GSSHA Feature Arc Type dialog. This dialog allows you to set the attributes for all the selected arcs.

Redistribute Vertices on All Streams – Selecting this button will first switch your active coverage to be the GSSHA coverage. If no arcs are selected, all the stream arcs will be selected in the GSSHA coverage. If arcs are selected, no additional arcs will be selected. The Redistribute Vertices dialog will appear, allowing you to set a new spacing for the vertices on the selected arcs.

Smooth Selected Stream Segments – This button will bring up the Smooth GSSHA Streams dialog for the selected arc(s). Before selecting this button, you should select a set of non-branched stream arcs. The smooth streams dialog has several options for modifying and smoothing the streams in the selected branch.

Create 2D Grid

The Create 2D Grid step is used to create a 2D grid from your watershed boundary. Select a grid cell size or number of cells and select the Create 2D Grid button to create a 2D grid.

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Create 2D Grid – This button creates a 2D grid based on the cell size or number of cells entered. For the GSSHA or ModClark models to run correctly, the X and Y dimensions of the 2D grid cells must be equal.

HMW Job Control

The job control step is used define the time parameters for running your model. Define the start and end time and date and select Set Job Control Data to set your job control parameters for the model you have selected.

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Set Job Control Data – Sets your job control parameters for the model you have selected.

Define Land Use and Soil Data

The Define Land Use and Soil Data step converts GIS Module shapefiles to data in the WMS Map module. WMS uses the boundary of your watershed to clip the shapefile data for the selected files.

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Create Coverages – Define your land use and soil type shapefiles and a model coverage and your land use/soil data will be transferred to coverages in the map module and clipped to your watershed boundary when you select this button.

Hydrologic Computations

The Hydrologic Computations step is used to compute hydrologic parameters for your watershed and sub-basins.

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Compute GIS Attributes – Depending on the model you are using, this button brings up a dialog allowing you to compute attributes from your land use and/or soil type data.

Travel times – This spreadsheet allows you to compute the Time of Concentration for all the sub-basins in your watershed using either the basin data or map data method.

Edit Parameters – This button brings up the edit parameters dialog for your model, allowing you to change modeling parameters for all the sub-basins in your watershed.

Define Precipitation

The Define Precipitation step is used to compute and define precipitation for your model.

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Compute Precipitation (certain models only) – This button allows you to compute the precipitation for your model from a NOAA Atlas 2 or any other type of rainfall grid.

Define Precipitation – This button allows you to define precipitation for your selected model.

Clean Up Model

The Clean Up Model step is used to clean up your model by doing tasks that are typically done when your model is finished.

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Clean Up Model – This button runs only the selected tasks listed above the button.

Save – This button saves the project in your current state.