Model:SurfaceRoughness

SurfaceRoughness

Also known as
Model type	Tool
Model part of larger framework
Note on status model
Date note status model

Incorporated models or components:

Spatial dimensions	2D
Spatial extent
Model domain	Terrestrial
One-line model description	Quantifies surface roughness with high-resolution topographic data by analyzing the local variability of surface normal vectors.
Extended model description	This tool can be used to map out areas of hillslopes where the emergence of bedrock drives an increase in surface roughness. The tool requires an input DEM in float format and will output the rasters, also in float format, for three eigenvectors that together describe the distribution of normal vectors within a user-defined neighbourhood for each pixel.

Keywords:	Rock Exposure, Surface Roughness, LiDAR,

Name	David Milodowski
Type of contact	Model developer
Institute / Organization	University of Edinburgh, School of GeoSciences
Postal address 1	Geography Building
Postal address 2	Drummond Street
Town / City	Edinburgh
Postal code	EH8 9XP
State
Country	United Kingdom
Email address	d.t.milodowski@ed.ac.uk
Phone
Fax

Name	Simon Mudd
Type of contact	Model developer
Institute / Organization	University of Edinburgh, School of GeoSciences
Postal address 1	Geography Building
Postal address 2	Drummond Street
Town / City	Edinburgh
Postal code	EH8 9XP
State
Country	United Kingdom
Email address	simon.m.mudd@ed.ac.uk
Phone
Fax

Supported platforms	Linux
Other platform
Programming language	C++
Other program language
Code optimized	Single Processor
Multiple processors implemented
Nr of distributed processors
Nr of shared processors
Start year development	2012
Does model development still take place?	Yes
If above answer is no, provide end year model development
Code development status
When did you indicate the 'code development status'?
Model availability	As code
Source code availability (Or provide future intension)	Through CSDMS repository
Source web address
Source csdms web address	https://github.com/csdms-contrib/SurfaceRoughness
Program license type	GPL v2
Program license type other
Memory requirements	Memory requirements dependent on size of DEM
Typical run time	1-30 minutes

Describe input parameters	The input file is a DEM in .flt format. A driver text file is also required which contains the parameters used for the extraction.
Input format
Other input format	float
Describe output parameters
Output format
Other output format
Pre-processing software needed?	No
Describe pre-processing software
Post-processing software needed?	No
Describe post-processing software
Visualization software needed?	No
If above answer is yes
Other visualization software

Describe processes represented by the model	This tool maps out local surface roughness based on the neighborhood distribution of surface normal vectors. As sediment transport processes in soil mantled landscapes tend to be diffusive, the emergence of bedrock drives an increase in surface roughness that is mapped out by this algorithm.
Describe key physical parameters and equations	The surface normal vector for a given pixel are defined by fitting a 6-term polynomial surface to a set of DEM points within a user-specified radius of that pixel. A second user-defined neighborhood is used to then map out the local variability in the orientation of the surface normal vectors.
Describe length scale and resolution constraints	A requirement is high resolution topographic data, typically ~1m resolution. For a detailed discussion of lengthscale and resolution constraints we urge the user to refer to the original manuscript
Describe time scale and resolution constraints	No time resolution constraints as this software performs topographic analysis.
Describe any numerical limitations and issues

Describe available calibration data sets
Upload calibration data sets if available:
Describe available test data sets	Two test DEMs are included in the repository, alongside their respective driver files. These are used in the original manuscript.
Upload test data sets if available:
Describe ideal data for testing	Any 1m resolution bare earth digital elevation model will do.

Do you have current or future plans for collaborating with other researchers?	Yes

Is there a manual available?	No
Upload manual if available:
Model website if any
Model forum / discussion board

Comments

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Model info

Authors

Mudd

Source code

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Featured reference(s)	Open Access Status	Year	Type of Reference	Cited
Milodowski, D. T.; Mudd, S. M.; Mitchard, E. T. A.; 2015. Topographic roughness as a signature of the emergence of bedrock in eroding landscapes. Earth Surface Dynamics, 3483–499. 10.5194/esurf-3-483-2015	cc-by · publishedVersion	2015	a module overview describing a module	51