TopoToolbox

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Metadata

• Summary
• Contact information
• Technical specs
• In/Output
• Process
• Testing
• Other
• Component info

Also known as
Model type	Tool

Spatial dimensions	2D
Spatial extent	Regional-Scale, Landscape-Scale, Watershed-Scale
Model domain	,
One-line model description	A set of Matlab functions for topographic analysis
Extended model description	TopoToolbox provides a set of Matlab functions that support the analysis of relief and flow pathways in digital elevation models. The major aim of TopoToolbox is to offer stable and efficient analytical GIS utilities in a non-GIS environment in order to support the simultaneous application of GIS-specific and other quantitative methods.

Keywords:

topographic analysis,

First name	Wolfgang
Last name	Schwanghart
Type of contact	Model developer
Institute / Organization	Physical Geography and Environmental Change
Postal address 1
Postal address 2
Town / City	Basel
Postal code	4056
State	NO STATE
Country	Switzerland
Email address	w.schwanghart@unibas.ch
Phone
Fax

Supported platforms	Unix, Linux, Mac OS, Windows
Other platform
Programming language	Matlab
Other program language
Code optimized
Multiple processors implemented
Nr of distributed processors
Nr of shared processors
Start year development	2008
Does model development still take place?	Yes
If above answer is no, provide end year model development
Model availability	As code
Source code availability (Or provide future intension)	Through CSDMS repository
Source web address
Program license type	Other
Program license type other	GNU version 2 or later
Memory requirements
Typical run time

Describe input parameters	ESRI ASCII digital elevation model
Input format	ASCII
Other input format
Describe output parameters	topographic derivatives (slope, curvature, flow accumulation, drainage basins), network representations, other
Output format	ASCII
Other output format
Pre-processing software needed?	No
Describe pre-processing software
Post-processing software needed?	No
Describe post-processing software
Visualization software needed?	Yes
If above answer is yes	Matlab
Other visualization software

Describe processes represented by the model
Describe key physical parameters and equations
Describe length scale and resolution constraints
Describe time scale and resolution constraints
Describe any numerical limitations and issues

Describe available calibration data sets
Upload calibration data sets if available:
Describe available test data sets
Upload test data sets if available:
Describe ideal data for testing

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

I am always looking for people interested in improving and enhancing TopoToolbox.

Provide key papers on model if any	Key Papers: Schwanghart, W., Kuhn, N. J. (2010): TopoToolbox: a set of Matlab functions for topographic analysis. Environmental Modelling & Software, 25, 770-781. DOI: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2009.12.002
Is there a manual available?	Yes
Upload manual if available:
Model website if any	http://physiogeo.unibas.ch/topotoolbox/
Model forum / discussion board

Comments

This part will be filled out by CSDMS staff

OpenMI compliant	No but possible
CCA component	No but possible
IRF interface	No but possible
CMT compontent	Not yet

Can be coupled with:

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Introduction

TopoToolbox provides a set of Matlab functions that support the analysis of relief and flow pathways in digital elevation models. The major aim of TopoToolbox is to offer stable and efficient analytical GIS utilities in a non-GIS environment in order to support the simultaneous application of GIS-specific and other quantitative methods.

History

See the readme file in the distribution.

Papers

Schwanghart, W., Kuhn, N. J. (2010): TopoToolbox: a set of Matlab functions for topographic analysis. Environmental Modelling & Software, 25, 770-781. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2009.12.002

Issues

TopoToolbox is optimized for small data sets (grid size less than 2000 columns x 2000 rows, depending on your available main memory). This short-coming is due to various issues. First of all, Matlab loads all variables in the main memory and does not work on a file basis (such as ArcGIS for example does). Second, Matlab performs best for double precision data and sparse matrix operations currently only support for double precision data. Hence, all variables are stored as double precision, which requires large memory. 64-bit computers may overcome many of these weaknesses.

Help

There is a short documentation (userguide.m) including html-files in the distribution. Each function contains a comprehensive help section with syntax explanations and examples.

A comprehensive function overview and description can be found at http://physiogeo.unibas.ch/topotoolbox/doc/index.html

Input Files

There is a example file included in the distribution. Own data should have the ESRI ArcGIS ASCII raster format and can be read with the function rasterread.

Output Files

Output can be written as ESRI ArcGIS ASCII raster format using the function rasterwrite.

Download source code

Source-code snapshots are available via model repository at:

Special:ExtensionDistributor/topotoolbox

License notice

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA.