Aquaveo & Water Resources Engineering News

Utilizing Data Modification Tools in SMS

By aquaveo on February 12, 2020

The Dataset Toolbox in SMS allows viewing your data in many different ways, while also being used to modify and create new datasets from already existing datasets. The different tools in the toolbox each use a specific set of functions to modify selected datasets.

One tool in the Dataset Toolbox that can prove to be helpful is the Filter tool. This tool creates a new dataset based on the selected filtering criteria.

For example, say you are filtering your numeric model output to show depths between the minimum and maximum depth, then you wish to filter the depth data for velocity between minimum and maximum range. This tool could help to show how a fish habitat changes over time or for any other purpose you can think of.

There may be multiple ways to accomplish this task, but one method would be to filter the velocity dataset to the desired range and then map that activity to the depth dataset. Using this example, you could do the following:

  1. Open the Dataset Toolbox.
  2. Select the Filter tool.
  3. Use the tool to filter the Velocity Mag dataset to the desired range and apply NULL outside the range.
The Filter tool in the Dataset Toolbox

The Map Activity tool is another tool that can be helpful. This tool maps the activity from one dataset to a second dataset. It helps show only the values of interest on a particular dataset. To continue the previous example:

  1. Select the Map Activity tool in the Dataset Toolbox.
  2. Using the dataset created in the previous steps, map the activity from the new dataset to the depth dataset (Value Dataset).

The new dataset will appear in the Project Explorer, showing the values of interest. If the dataset is a transient then a film loop could be made, showing how it changes over time.

The Filter and Map Activity tools are only two of many tools available in SMS’s Dataset Toolbox. Try out these tools and others in SMS today!

Blog tags: 
SMS

Exploring Hide, Show, and Isolate in GMS

By aquaveo on February 5, 2020

Many projects in GMS can end up being visually busy. Having a large grid and dozens of features can make it hard to see specific areas clearly. To help with this, GMS provides the Hide, Show, and Isolate functions.

How to Hide Cells

This feature allows you to select different project cells and simultaneously hide them from view in the Graphics Window.

  1. Select the individual, or group of cells that need to be hidden.
  2. Once it is highlighted, click the Hide macro in the toolbar, or right-click and select the Hide command.

Remember that when cells are hidden from view this does not mean they have been deleted from your project entirely. Even if they are not visible it is only necessary to select the Show macro on the toolbar and the hidden cells will reappear.

Also, hiding cells does not make those cells inactive. They will still be included in your model run.

How to Show Cells

To reverse the hidden elements, click the Show macro in the toolbar and any hidden cells in your project will reappear. This can be important if you have inherited a project and suspect there are hidden cells.

Isolating Cells

Isolating cells hides cells that are not selected, unlike Hide which hides the selected cells. To isolate cells:

  1. Select the cells in the Graphics Window you wish to isolate.
  2. Once cells are highlighted, select the Isolate macro on the toolbar, or right-click and select the Isolate command.

Using a Polygon

Another option for isolating or hiding cells is to use a polygon in the map coverage. To do this:

  1. Right-click on the selected polygon.
  2. Click Select Intersecting Objects from the menu that appears.
  3. In the Select Objects of Type dialog choose the geometric object to use.
  4. With the cells selected, you can now use the Hide or Isolate function.
Isolating cells using a polygon

Try using the Hide, Show, and Isolate features in GMS today!

Blog tags: 
GMS

4 Ways to Screen Capture in WMS

By aquaveo on January 29, 2020

Are you needing to capture a screenshot of your WMS model? Fortunately, there are multiple ways to get a screenshot from WMS. This blog article will discuss four methods for using screen capture in WMS; two that use built-in Microsoft Windows capabilities and two that make use of the innate capacity of WMS.

Windows Methods

Microsoft Windows has a couple of innate methods for making a screen capture. One way is to use the Print Screen command found on the keyboard. This command will copy an image of the WMS screen into the computer's memory where the image can later be pasted into another program. Holding down the Alt key while using the Print Screen command method will limit the image to just the WMS interface if it is in the active window. This method, however, has one disadvantage considering that the captured image often needs editing.

Another method is to use the Snip tool. This tool initiates dragging a rectangle around the WMS interface. Like the Print Screen key, this saves the image in your computer’s memory which later needs to be pasted into a seperate program. This method has the advantage of allowing you to get a cropped version of the image.

Neither of the screen capture methods using the native Windows tools directly results in a usable image file.

WMS Methods

Using the WMS screen capture methods, a usable image file can be easily obtained. The Save As command and the Screen Capture command both create an image file that contains exactly what is displayed in the Graphics Window at the time the file is saved. This can help avoid having to copy and edit the image in a graphics software program.

To use the Save as command, go to File | Save As. In the Save As dialog, change the file type to be "JPEG Image File (*.jpg, *.jpeg)".

To use the Screen Capture command, make the GIS module active. Use the Image | Screen Capture command. In the save dialog that appears, save out the screen capture as a bitmap image.

Screen Capture command

Try out the screen capture capabilities of WMS today!

Blog tags: 
WMS

Viewing Flood Extents in SMS

By aquaveo on January 22, 2020

For many riverine projects, finding areas of potential flooding is a key component. SMS offers a few ways to see the flood extents in a given project.

When running a riverine numeric model, such as SRH-2D, a dataset of the water surface elevation (WSE) is often part of the resulting solution. Using the contours and time steps of the WSE dataset can help locate the flooded areas and extents within the modeled area.

You can use the “max” function in the data calculator to make a dataset showing the maximum water surface elevation across all timesteps. For example, using a WSE dataset, you would enter "max(WSE:all)" to get the maximum value for the WSE dataset across all time steps. This would then show the maximum extents.

A faster way to view floodplain data for a single time step is to use the Map Flood command. This tool utilizes ground elevations and existing flood hazard maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to quickly visualize the impacts of possible modifications in the flood level. The Map Flood tool works with FEMA flood hazard data allowing you to avoid building and running an entire numeric model in order to obtain a quick estimate of the flood areas for a single time step.

Flood Extents using Map Flood

The Map Flood tool can also be used for a single time step with local data for areas where FEMA data is not available. More information about the Map Flood tool is found in the Fast Floodplain tutorial.

You can share the flood data you’ve generated by exporting a WSE or max WSE dataset in a variety of file formats using either the right-click Export command or the File | Save As command. The feature arcs created using the Map Flood can also be saved as a shapefile or any other available file format.

Try out the tools in SMS for viewing flood extents today.

Blog tags: 
SMS

Sharing Display Themes in GMS

By aquaveo on January 15, 2020

Display themes make showing off your groundwater model easier. A display theme is a set display parameters that can be saved in a project to be used repeatedly. But, after creating a display theme that works well, have you ever wanted to use that same display theme for a different project?

Display Theme Example

In GMS, display themes are saved with the project file. Therefore, importing a display theme into another project isn’t quite as simple as importing a raster file or image. However, the process isn’t all that complicated either.

To import a display theme from an existing project into a new project, do the following:

  1. Open the project with the display theme you want to import to other projects.
  2. Remove everything from the project except for the desired display theme.
  3. Use the Save As command to save the project with a different name. The project should only contain the display theme.
  4. Open the project that is to receive the display theme.
  5. Select the File | Open command.
  6. In the Open dialog, select the project containing the display theme and turn on the Import into current project option before clicking the Open button.

Using these steps will add the display theme to the existing project. The new display theme will appear in the Project Explorer.

Note that this project requires using the File | Open method of importing a file. The Open macro can also be used. Other methods for importing files into GMS, such as drag-and-drop, will not work.

Also, be aware that when importing a display theme into an existing project, the display theme will only work with data like that in the original project. For example, a display theme built for a project using 3D UGrids will not work with a project that uses 2D grids.

Display themes are a great tool for visualizing your data in GMS. Try saving and sharing them in GMS today!

Blog tags: 
GMS

Importing and Exporting Shapefiles

By aquaveo on January 8, 2020

If you have data in GMS, SMS, or WMS that needs to be shared with another application, one of the easiest ways to share this data is through shapefiles. GMS, SMS, and WMS can all import and export shapefiles, though there are some differences between them. This article goes over some of those differences.

Importing Shapefiles

When you import shapefiles into GMS, SMS, or WMS, they will be loaded under the GIS module. Shapefiles can be imported just like any other file using the File | Open command, the Open File macro, or dragging the file icon on the interface. From there, you can use the conversion commands to move the shapefile data into other modules.

Exporting Shapefiles

Though GMS, SMS, and WMS have a lot of similarities they each vary from the other when it comes to saving a shapefile. In general DEMs, TINs, feature objects, and grids can be saved through the right-click menu in GMS; the file menu in SMS; and through both the right-click menu and file menu in WMS.

GMS
Export command

Shapefiles can be exported through the right-click menu.

  1. Right-click on the item in the Project Explorer and select Export to bring up the Export dialog.
  2. In this dialog you can change the "Save as type" to "Shapefile (*.shp)".

The following items can be exported as shapefiles.

  • TINs
  • 3D Grids
  • Feature Objects
  • DEMs
SMS

Shapefiles can be exported through the File menu.

  1. Select the item in the Project Explorer, then File | Save As to bring up the Save As dialog.
  2. In this dialog you can change the "Save as type" to "Shapefile (*.shp)".

The following items can be exported as shapefiles.

  • Scatter Sets
  • 2D Grids
  • Feature Objects
  • Raster Files
WMS

Shapefiles can be exported through the right-click menu and through the File menu.

  1. Select the item in the Project Explorer, then File | Save As to bring up the Save As dialog.
  2. In this dialog you can change the "Save as type" to "Shapefile (*.shp)".
  3. Alternatively, you can right-click and select Save As to bring up the same dialog.
The following items can be exported as shapefiles.
  • TINs
  • 2D Grids
  • Feature Objects
  • DEMs

Now that you know a little more about using shapefiles in XMS, try using them in your GMS, SMS, or WMS projects today!

Blog tags: 
GMS
SMS
WMS

Happy New Year from Aquaveo!

By aquaveo on January 1, 2020
Happy New Year!

We hope you had a great 2019 and will have an even better 2020. At Aquaveo, we are excited for 2020. We have many projects in the works and can’t wait to be able to show them to you.

Here is some of what Aquaveo plans to bring you in the coming year:

  • GMS 10.5 which will include expanded functionality for using MODFLOW 6.
  • SMS 13.1, including improvements for ADCIRC and SRH-2D.
  • New Tethys web-applications including AGWA, a web-based application for GSSHA.

We look forward to seeing you in the coming year. Keep checking our website for news and updates.

Understanding Projections vs. Reproject

By aquaveo on December 18, 2019

Have you ever wondered what the difference between projection and reprojection is? Have you ever needed to convert a projection from one type to another in GMS, SMS, or WMS (collectively known as XMS)? The use of projections in WMS can be confusing, so the following should provide further clarification.

Specifying Projections

Projections can be associated with individual data objects, either in the object data file itself or in an associated *.prj file. If XMS cannot find a projection, the object will be left as "no projection," or, when new objects are created, XMS will assign the display projection to it. You can specify an object's projection by right-clicking on it and selecting Projection. Note that this projection must be the same as the original projection of the data; specifying an incorrect projection will result in data issues.

Reprojecting on the Fly

"Reprojecting on the Fly" occurs when datasets or objects from multiple projections are loaded into a project, where the x and y values would not otherwise overlap (i.e., the data would be displayed in two or more distinct locations). The different projections for these data will be "reprojected on the fly" to match the display projection such that the data objects will line up. Note that this does not change any *.prj files or the projections that are set for each object; it is an automatic function internal to XMS used for display purposes.

Converting a Projection

If you need to convert from one projection to another, this can be done by right-clicking on it and choosing Reproject. To use this command, the data must first have the correct projection specified. After choosing Reproject, the command will prompt the user to select a new projection, the data will be converted to the selected projection. If a *.prj file is associated with the object (such as a TIFF), reprojecting the object will change the *.prj file. Reprojection on the fly is usually sufficient for most applications. Please note that there are some limitations for reprojecting.

Reporject Dialog Example

Once the datasets are referencing their projection correctly, XMS should reproject them on the fly to match your display projection. If you don't have a display projection set, you can do so by selecting the Display menu and choosing Projection. At that point, if you would like to reproject your scatter(s) into the same projection as the display projection, you would be able to do so.

Now that you see the differences between projection vs. reproject try them out in XMS today!

Blog tags: 
GMS
SMS
WMS
XMS

Tips for Feature Stamping

By jcreer on December 11, 2019

Have you ever needed to add an abutment, embankment, or other feature to your mesh and found it a struggle? We have some good news for you: SMS includes a function called Feature Stamping that is useful for this exact situation.

Feature stamping allows you to add man-made structures to an already created mesh by means of a stamping coverage.

Feature Stamping Example

You can find out more about this process in this wiki workflow.

There are, however, a few items to keep in mind when attempting to use the feature stamping tools. In this post, we’ll cover some of the most common, and how to troubleshoot them.

Make a High Quality Mesh

In order for feature stamping to be the most effective, it is necessary to enter them into a mesh that is already stable. Some items to look for include:

  • Making sure the mesh has enough detail.
  • Checking that the spacing between vertices isn’t too extreme in any portion.
  • Making use of the Redistribute Vertices tool.

You can find much more about creating quality meshes on here our blog.

Avoid Disjointed Vertices

Disjointed vertices are points in the scatter that have not been connected to triangles or quadrilaterals in the mesh. Feature stamping will fail if there are any disjointed vertices in the mesh.

There are two options for fixing this:

  • Find and delete all of the unconnected vertices.
  • Re-triangulate the mesh.
Keep the Stamping Features Short, Linear, and Independent

Feature stamping is usually linear, following a centerline.

If the structure is too large, or crosses over with other structures, it often has problems properly integrating with the mesh.

You can find examples here of when features are considered to be overlapping.

As long as your stamping features are reasonable in size and don’t interfere with each other, you should be able to successfully stamp your man-made features into the mesh.

Feature stamping is a very useful, but sometimes under-utilized, tool. Try out the feature stamping function in SMS today!

Blog tags: 
SMS

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