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ACCUM PLUS 1.0

for ArcGIS 9.x and ArcView 3.x
Autor:
Dr. Hol ger Schubl e (Geograph und GI S-Anal yst)
TERRACS, Vor dem Kreuzberg 28, 72070 Tbi ngen (Germany)
Web: www. terracs. com
Emai l : schaeubl e@terracs. com
Tel . : +49-7071 -6039740
Fax: +49-7071 -6039734
1. Introduction
AccumPl us i s a software whi ch cal cul ates fl ow accumul ati on by consi deri ng dams/si nks and thei r speci fi c
operati on ti me. Two di fferent fl ow routi ng al gori thms are i mpl emented: the wel l -known D8 si ngl e
fl ow al gori thm (standard al gori thm i n ArcVi ew, ArcGI S, I dri si , GRASS, etc. ) and the newl y devel -
oped D8t si ngl e fl ow al gori thm (Schubl e et al . , 2008). AccumPl us i s avai l abl e for ArcVi ew GI S 3. x
(Spati al Anal yst Extensi on and Di al og Desi gner needed) and ArcGI S 9. x (Spati al Anal yst Extensi on
needed). AccumPl us i s free of charge for al l purposes (pri vate and commerci al use as wel l ). AccumPl us
i s l i mi ted to gri d si zes up to 1 0000*1 0000 pi xel s. Larger gri d si zes are supported by AccumPl us Profes-
si onal for ArcGI S 9. x whi ch can be purchased upon request from www. terracs. com. Thi s manual gi ves
a short i ntroducti on i n the use of AccumPl us. A more detai l ed descri pti on about the pri nci pl es i s
gi ven i n Schubl e et al . (2008). Any comments or suggesti ons for i mprovement wi l l be appreci ated.
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2. Installation of ACCUM PLUS
Installation of the specific version for ArcView GIS 3.x
The extensi on AccumPl us3x comes al ong wi th the dynami c l i nk l i brary accum3x. dl l and the extensi on fi l e
accumpl us3x. avx. To make the extensi on run i t i s necessary to copy both l i brari es on your computer. Make
sure to copy the fi l e accum3x. dl l to the ArcVi ew Bi n32 fol der. The extensi on fi l e accumpl us3x. avx shoul d
be copi ed i n the ArcVi ew Ext32 fol der. Pl ease note that the Spati al Anal yst and Di al og Desi gner
extensi on are requi red for AccumPl us. Then perform the fol l owi ng steps to start:
- Launch ArcVi ew GI S 3. x
- Go to the Extensi ons menu (Fi l e Extensi ons ) and sel ect the AccumPl us 1 . 0 extensi on
(Fi g. 1 )
- AccumPl us program can be started by openi ng a new vi ew and then cl i cki ng the button
from the menu secti on (Fi g. 2).
Figure 1: Launchi ng of AccumPl us from ArcVi ew 3. x Extensi on menu
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Figure 2: Start button of AccumPl us i n the button secti on of ArcVi ew 3. x
Installation of the specific version for ArcGIS 9.x
The extensi on AccumPl us9x comes al ong wi th the dynami c l i nk l i brary accum9x. dl l and the extensi on fi l e
accumpl us9x. dl l . To make the extensi on run i t i s necessary to copy both l i brari es on your computer. Make
sure to copy the fi l e accum9x. dl l to the ArcGI S Bi n fol der. The extensi on fi l e accumpl us9x. avx can be cop-
i ed el sewhere (recommended: al so ArcGI S Bi n fol der). Pl ease note that the Spati al Anal yst extensi on i s re-
qui red for AccumPl us. Then perform the fol l owi ng steps to start:
- Launch Arc GI S 9. x
- Go to the Tool s menu, choose Customi ze and push the Add from fi l e button (red ci rcl e at the bot-
tom of Fi g. 3)
- Browse for the extensi on accumpl us9x. dl l . Choose the extensi on and cl ose the di al og.
- Go to the Commands tab. I n the Categori es l i st box choose Devel oper Sampl es . Sel ect the new
command AccumPl us that has to be added to the Commands l i st box and put i t on the menu
secti on by by drag-and-drop (red ci rcl e at the top of Fi g. 3).
- AccumPl us can be started by cl i cki ng the button from the menu secti on (Fi g. 4).
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Figure 3: Installation of AccumPlus for ArcGIS 9.x through the Customize window
Figure 4: AccumPlus for ArcGIS 9.x after the installation procedure.
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3. Using AccumPlus for ArcGIS 9.x and ArcView 3.x
Main program interface window of AccumPlus
AccumPlus is launched by pressing the button which is located in the menu section in ArcView GIS 3.x
and ArcGIS 9.x. (Fig. 5 and 6). Both versions are identical and have the same look and feel. The following
functions are available:
- Filling sinks: Creation of a depressionless digital elevation model (DEM) by filling dischargeless
sinks (for detailed information have a look at Sch.uble, 2004)
- Flow direction: Calculation of a flow direction grid from a digital elevation model (which has been
corrected by the Filling Sinks function above, for detailed information have a look at Sch.uble, 2004
or ESRI, 2005)
- Accumulation (D8): Calculation of flow accumulation with the well-known D8 single flow algorithm
- Accumulation (D8t): Calculation of flow accumulation by considering sinks/dams and their specific
operation time with the new D8t single flow algorithm.
Figure 5: Main program window of AccumPlus for ArcView GIS 3.x or ArcGIS 9.x
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Figure 6: Sampl es of gri ds that are needed. Whi te col or = No data val ues.
Sample datasets of AccumPlus
For a strai ghtforward and fast i ntroducti on AccumPl us comes wi th several addi ti onal sampl e datasets that
wi l l be used i n the fol l owi ng expl anati ons (Fi g. 7).
- A di gi tal el evati on model dem wi th el evati on val ues i n meters
- A fl ow di recti on dataset flowdir wi th fl ow di recti on val ues from 1 to 1 28 accordi ng to ESRI nota-
ti on (created from the dem dataset)
- An opti onal wei ght dataset precipitation that shows the preci pi tati on of the sampl e area i n
mm/year (not expl i ci tl y used i n thi s manual )
- Three datasets that show a sampl e measurement stati on at the outl et of a ri ver catchment:
1 ) an overal l vector shapefi l e station that shows the l ocati on and gi ves i nformati ons about the
begi nni ng and the end of the measurement peri od and
2) two raster datasets station_start (year of the begi nni ng of the measurement) and sta-
tion_end (year of the end of the measurement).
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- Three datasets that show two dams whi ch are l ocated i n the catchment of the measurement stati on
above:
1 ) an overal l vector shapefi l e dams that shows the l ocati on and gi ves i nformati ons about the trap-
effi ci ency of the dams i n % and thei r year of commi ssi oni ng (= year of constructi on) and
2) two raster datasets trap-efficiency (trap-effi ci ency i n %, see Sch. ubl e et al . , 2008) and year
(year of constructi on).
- Three datasets for checking purposes whi ch show the resul ts of the cal cul ati ons:
a) AccumD8-simple: Si mpl e D8 fl ow accumul ati on wi th Accumul ati on (D8) wi thout any wei ght
gri d and the fl owdi r dataset (= unwei ghted D8 accumul ati on),
b) AccumD8-adv: Advanced si ngl e D8 fl ow accumul ati on wi th Accumul ati on (D8) and the usage
of the opti onal trap-effi ci ency dataset (= D8 accumul ati on by consi deri ng trap-effi ci ency of dams),
c) AccumD8t-adv: Advanced D8t fl ow accumul ati on wi th Accumul ati on (D8t) and the usage of al l
avai l abl e gri ds fl owdi r, stati on_start, stati on_end, trap-effi ci ency and year.
Figure 7: Sampl e datasets for AccumPl us 1 . 0 raster data and vector shapefi l es
7. 1 . dem: Di gi tal el evati on model (ESRI Gri d) 7. 2. fl owdi r: Fl ow di recti on dataset (ESRI Gri d)
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Figure 7 (continued): Sampl e datasets for AccumPl us 1 . 0 raster data and vector shapefi l es
7. 3. stati on_start and stati on_end (ESRI Gri ds): 7. 4. year and trap-effi ci ency (ESRI Gri ds):
one stati on pi xel (surrounded by a red ci rcl e l i ne) two dam pi xel s (surrounded by a red ci rcl e l i ne)
7. 5. preci pi tati on: wei ghti ng gri d (ESRI gri d) 7. 6. Sampl e datasets overvi ew: Sampl i ng stati on
(green ci rcl e), dams/si nks (red squares), catchment
(yel l ow borders) and ri vers (bl ue pi xel s = ri vers)
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Filling Sinks function
Functi on to correct a di gi tal el evati on model by fi l l i ng di schargel ess si nks. Just one gri d necessary: di gi tal
el evati on model that needs to be corrected, other opti ons and combo boxes are greyed out. For more i nfor-
mati on (see Schubl e, 2004). Genui ne ESRI functi on of the Spati al Anal yst extensi on.
Flow Direction function
Functi on to cal cul ate the fl ow di recti on from a corrected di gi tal el evati on model . Just one gri d necessary:
di gi tal el evati on model that needs to be corrected, other opti ons and combo boxes are greyed out. The de-
ri ved fl ow di recti on gri d acts as i nput for the next two functi ons Accumul ati on (D8) and Accumul ati on
(D8t). For more i nformati on have a l ook at ESRI onl i ne hel p, ESRI (2005) or Burrough & McDonnel l (1 998).
Genui ne ESRI functi on of the Spati al Anal yst extensi on.
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Accumulation (D8) function
Function to calculate the flow accumulation from a flow direction grid. The derived result will look like in Fig.7
(5), the calculation principles are show in Fig. 8. The user has the option to select additional weight and trap-
efficiency grids (upper screenshot), other options are greyed out. In general just a flow direction grid is
needed. If no weight or trap-efficiency grid is selected (<None> in the Weight and Trap-Eff combo box, lower
screenshot ), all pixels will have the same weight (value of 1) and no flow reduction will happen (trap-
efficiency of all pixels = 0%).
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Figure 8: Basics of flow accumulation. Left: Different algorithms. Right: Unweighted flow accumulation along
a hillslope (weight of each pixel = 1) (from Schuble et al., 2008).
Accumulation (D8t) function
Function to calculate flow accumulation with the new D8t algorithm from a flow direction grid by considering
the trap-efficiency of dams/sinks and their specific operation time. A short overview can be viewed in Fig. 9,
a detailed description is given in Schuble et al. (2008). 5 grids are obligatory in any case: a flow direction
grid (FlowDir combo box), two grids that give information about the beginning (year first measurement in the
Start combo box) and end of a sampling period (year of last measurement in the End combo box) and two
grids that give information about the dams/sinks in the watershed or catchment: a grid with information about
the trap-efficiency of sinks, i.e. the reduction of flow in % (from 0 to 100%) and grid with the year of the dams
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construction or the beginning of the sink (Year combo box). The user has the option to select an additional
weight grid (i.e. a precipitation grid). If no one is selected (denoted by <None> in the Weight combo box), all
cells are treated equally with a value of 1.
Figure 9: Basic principles of calculations with the D8t algorithm. TE = trap-efficiency in %. A: No sink or
dam: all flow is transferred downslope with no reduction. B: Permanent sink or dam that exists during the en-
tire observation period: all flow is reduced by 90% from the sink. C: Temporary active sink or dam (5 years
during the sampling period from 1970-1980): all flow is reduced less compared to case B because of the re-
duced specific operation time (from Schuble et al., 2008).
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4. Sample calculations in Computers & Geosciences
For better imagination on how AccumPlus works several sample calculations have been made for Com-
puters & Geosciences. These show the differences between an ordinary D8 accumulation with no weighting
grid and no sinks/dams (Fig. 10, A), an advanced D8 accumulation with no weighting grid but permanent
sinks/dams (Fig. 10, B) and a sophisticated D8t simulation by considering sinks/dams and their variable in-
fluence in time (Fig. 10, C). Because of the different flow reduction the accumulation values in the catchment
and at the outlet are quite different: 3760 (A, no reduction), 470 (B, permanent and large reduction) and
1770 (C, temporary and thus less larger reduction). A detailed description is given in Schuble et al., 2008.
Figure 10 (this and next page): Accumulation with D8t algorithm. TE = trap-efficiency in %. A) No dams. B)
Permanent dam operation. C) Temporary dam operation.
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5. Important hints and troubleshooting
- AccumPl us works wi th al l gri d datasets that have a si ze of not more than 1 0000*1 0000 pi xel s. Gri ds
wi th more than 1 0000*1 0000 pi xel s are supported by AccumPl us Professi onal whi ch can be pur-
chased from www. terracs. com on request.
- Onl y ESRI gri ds are supported, other raster datasets (l i ke ti f or Erdas i mg i mages) have to be con-
verted to ERSI gri ds before doi ng the anal ysi s.
- No envi ronment checki ng i s made. The user has to ensure that the cel l si zes and the extents of al l
gri ds are i denti cal . Check thi s by sel ecti ng the fol l owi ng menu i tems:
a) ArcGI S 9. x: Spati al Anal yst Opti onsor Layer Properti es Source.
b) ArcVi ew 3. x: Anal ysi s Properti es
- No data val ues are supported duri ng the anal ysi s. Gri ds i n the Start, End, Year and Trap-Eff combo
boxes: Pi xel s wi th val ues other than no data are treated as measurement stati ons (Start and End
combo box) or si nks/dams (Trap-Eff and Year combo box), pi xel s wi th no data val ues are treated as
areas wi th no measurement stati ons or si nks/dams respecti vel y. I n those cases no fl ow reducti on i s
made duri ng the anal ysi s.
- Keep care that the pi xel s wi th val ues i n the Start and End combo boxes or the Year and
Trap-Eff combo boxes do share the same l ocati on (Fi g. 4). I f a pi xel at a dam l ocati on has trap-
effi ci ency val ue but no associ ated year val ue (e. g. i f the cel l i s mi scl assi fi ed as no data i nstead the
constructi on year), the resul ts of the anal ysi s wi l l not be correct. Si mi l ar probl ems wi l l happen
i n case of the measurement stati ons.
- AccumPl us wri tes the new gri ds i n the (l ast) acti ve di rectory by defaul t. Keep care that you have
the authori zati on to wri te datasets i n that di rectory (check wi th Fi l e Add data). I f not j ust
use the Add data button and navi gate to a di rectory where wri ti ng operati ons are al l owed.
- AccumPl us for ArcGI S 9. x uses the typi cal l i brari es of ArcGI S 9. x and wi l l therefore not work wi th
earl i er versi ons (ArcGI S 8. 0 8. 3). I t i s not pl anned to create a separate versi on for ArcGI S 8. x.
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References
- ESRI (Ed.), 2005:
ArcGIS 9. Geoprocessing Commands Quick Reference Guide, ESRI Press, Redlands, 175 pp.
- Burrough, P.A.; McDonnell, R.A., 1998:
Principles of Geographic Information Systems. Oxford University Press. Oxford (UK). 342 p.
- Schuble, H., 2004:
HYDRO TOOLS 1.0 for ArcView 3.x - Hydrological analysis of large and small watersheds, Software
and Manual, TERRACS, Tbingen, Germany, http://www.terracs.com, 17 pp.
- Schuble, H., Marinoni, O., Hinderer, M., 2008:
A GIS-based method to calculate flow accumulation by considering dams and their specific opera-
tion time. Computers & Geosciences. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2007.05.023