Basic exercises using WHIST example set up: Get familiar with some tools

Use the basic WHIST example set up (= WHIST Course model) to get familiar with the tools listed here beneath.

E1-E9 are exercises to learn how to use different tools and export new data.
E10 A and B are exercises to learn how the subbasin changes affect the different HYPE files in your corresponding HYPE course model, e.g. a split of a subbasin will cause a "chain reaction" that has to be solved before the model will run properly again.

E.0 Start WHIST and learn the basics to get started
E.1 Load and save subbasins
E.2 Rerout / relink subbasins
E.3 Cut and Split subbasins
E.4 Merge subbasins
E.5 Remove and add subbasins
E.6 Import your own subbasins
E.7 Add spatial data to subbasin
E.8 Export subbasins and their attributes
E.9 Change topography database and create your own subbasins
E.10 STEP - by - STEP tutorial on how to revise WWH HYPE files after subbasin delineation or routing changes
- A. Rerouting of a subbasin
- B. Splitting one subbasin and add a new time series to Qobs

E.0 Start WHIST and learn the basics to get started

Start WHIST, see 3.2 Test to run WHIST

Learn how to zoom out, zoom in and move around in the map, see 5. Navigation

Learn how to view the data, subbasins, flowlines, topograpy, external shapefile, Open Street Map, see 6. View tools

Learn how to select subbasins, see 7. Select subbasins

E.1 Load and save subbasins

See 8. Load and save WHIST work

E.2 Rerout / relink subbasins

The topography used may not always be totally correct in a hydrological point of view.Sinks may appear or a river is connected in a wrong direction. This is more common in very flat area where the real watersheds are difficult to define. If you have the river network, as you know it, described in a shapefile, you can view this shapefile in the background, see 6. View tools and then relink the subbasins that you find are routed in a wrong way according to 10.3 and 10.3.1 Routing adjustments. A rerouting should always be followed by:

Select all basins
Clean Hydro Connections
Set HAROID

Figure E2. Routine to do after any subbasin revision before saving the work

E.3 Cut and Split subbasins

If you want to cut a subbasin without taking the topography into account you can use the "cut" tool, see 10.21 Cut

If you want to split a basin with help from the topography, use the 10.22 Split tool

If you would like to split a subbasins at a specific location you might be helped by viewing a shapefile showing that location or the Open Street Map. You can view these in the background, see View shapefile or Open Street Map

As after all kinds of revisions you should end this procedure with:

Select all basins
Clean Hydro Connections
Set HAROID
(see figure E2 above)

When cutting or merging subbasins you also have to follow the instructions under E.7 to get the elevations and slc classes correct for the revised subbasins.

E.4 Merge subbasins

If you would like to merge 2 or several subbasins there are a several different tools to use depending on the task, from just merging two subbasins into one, to more automatic merging of certain types of subbasins, e.g small subbasins, coastal subbasins etc. These more automatic tools were developed to for post-processing/cleaning of very large models. They should be used with caution and you should check the results thoroughly before you accept/save the changes.

See 10.4 Merge tools

As after all kinds of revisions you should end this procedure with:

Select all basins
Clean Hydro Connections
Set HAROID
(see figure E2 above)

When cutting or merging subbasins you also have to follow the instructions under E.7 to get the elevations and slc classes correct for the revised subbasins.

E.5 Remove and add subbasins

If there is an area that you are not satisfied with, it might have too large subbasins, be too postprocessed due to large lakes, floodplains, non contributing areas, etc, you can delete this area and delineate new subbasins from scratch by using the already given topography database in the WHIST set up.

Start by select the basins you would like to remove. After this click on the the "Edit 1/ kill" button, see Kill - delete subbasins.
Then go to HYDRO/create and then follow the instructions Create subbasins from hydrologically corrected topography data

When you have covered the deleted area with new subbasins you must end the with:

Select all basins
Clean Hydro Connections
Set HAROID
(see figure E2 above)

After that you can recalculate the ELEV_MEAN, ELEV_STD and SLC (+ DHSLC) again according to E.7 here beneath.

Export the new shapefiles and the new HYSS file according to 12. Export shapefiles and tables

Before you have a useful HYPE model you must link discharge time series, LakeData olakes, forcing data time series etc, to the correct subbasins (SUBID) in GeoData.txt

E.6 Import your own subbasins

You can use your own subbasins for setting up HYPE and extract the data provided (elevations, SLC, DHSLC). If you do not have the routing (it must be described in the same way as in a typical GeoData.txt with a MAINDOWN column in the attribute file) you can also use the provided topography grids to determine the routing. The shapefile must have the same coordinate system as the WHIST database, WGS84 (for exakt information see projection file of any shapefile in the shapefile folder).
It is a large task to prepare your own model from scratch. Not recommended to do during the course days.

Go to HYDRO/import.

use "replace all previous subbasins"
use "max flow accumulation pourpoint generation method
browse for your shapefile under Input file/folder
Choose the column for the subbasin ID´s.
Choose (if available) the column for the next downstream subbasin.
Click on Import

If you do NOT have any routing described it should have been set during the import since "max flow accumulation" was checked. If this is not the case, select all subbasin and use the tool under HYDRO /Edit 2/Autolink. Use this tool twice. After that you should repeat the standard procedure:

Select all basins
Clean Hydro Connections
Set HAROID
(see figure E2 above)

Check the results and post process the files according to the following instructions here beneath.

E.7 Add spatial data to subbasin

A general description is provided here: 11. Extract and connect attribute to the subbasins.

If you just want to update the data connections (ELEV_MEAN, ELEV_STD, SLC- and DHSLC classes) already used in the course model due to subbasin changes you can follow this:

Go to Manage Data connection

Select ELEV_MEAN in the "Existing list" to the right. Check that the grid "DEM" is marked and mean is choosen as method. Click on the replace button to be sure this is correct from now on.

Do the same for ELEV_STD but with STDEV as method instead.

And at last the SLC and DHSLC. Mark SLC to the right. Check that E_SLC grid is marked, click the Replace button, answer yes to the "DH" question and Choose dem.hgt as the elevation grid.

After this Click OK.
Select all subbasins
Check the "recalculate from sources" button and the click on "create for selected basins"

The data is now calculated. If you have a large model it might take a long time. When ready, save and export your new results according to the instructions here beneath.

E.8 Export subbasins and their attributes

You can find information about the available type of exports here: 12. Expot shapefiles and tables.

The text file received using the "HYSS" export is the table that can be used as a base for the GeoData file in HYPE.

The text file provide the same information as the shapefile attribute file but with one more decimal for the SLC classes etc. It can also provide more columns than a shapefile attribute file. It is more reliable to use the exported HYSS text file than the attribute file of the shapefile for the GeoData file.

E.9 Change topography database and create your own subbasins

WHIST is sensitive to the formats as you can read in the chapter about **WHIST requirements but as long as these are followed it is possible to change to any database containing grids of DEM, DIR, ACC/UPA as a minimum. Please follow the instructions in chapter 4. When the new database is added and you are able to view the grids in the WHIST interface you are ready to create a method for subbasin creation. Please follow the instructions in the chapter "Create subbasins from hydrologically corrected topography data (DEM, DIR, ACC)".

E.10 STEP - by - STEP tutorial on how to revise WWH HYPE files after subbasin delineation or routing changes

A. Rerouting of a subbasin

Rerouting is simple! To make the HYPE model work you just have to change the MAINDOWN column in GeoData.txt for the SUBID that has been rerouted. You can do this directly in the GeoData file or (if you want to get all columns correct even if not used by HYPE) you can rerout the subbasins in WHIST (then you will get the correct new upstream area etc of all subbasins), export the HYSS_GeoData file again and transfer the new information to your current GeoData.txt. As a final step you must check that there is no downstream subbasin present before an upstream subbasin in the SUBID column. You can use the HYPEtool "sortGeoData" for this.

Using the WHIST example model/course model the orange subbasins 314496 in figure E10a has been routed to 302854 instead of 311248 with the link too, see E.2 and do not forget to do the ending procedure (select all, clean hydro connection, set haroid).

Figure E10a. 314496 has been routed to 302854 instead of 311248.

Check if SLC´s, ELEV_MEAN, ELEV_STD results still are present. They should be there, since they still will be the same after a rerouting, but sometimes disappear. If that is the case redo the data connections according to Add spatial data to subbasin

Save your work and export a new HYSS file. You can also export new flowlines and HARO (main river basins) since these are changed.

If you now open the original HYSS_GeoData.txt in your .\2020_000_WHIST_coursemodel\database\shapefiles\ and compare with your new HYSS export you will see that some parts have changed.

the green marked SUBID´s are the once involved in the change (new MAINDOWN and/or new HAROID and/or new UPAREA).
the yellow marked cells are changed but since neither HAROID nor UPAREA are used by HYPE it means that the only critical change is the MAINDOWN marked with a red square, since this is the one that changed the flow of the water in the model.
If you change this MAINDOWN directly in the original GeoData file you will get all columns that have been added after WHIST processes correct. Or you can transfer this information to the new HYSS file (LATITUDE, LONGITUDE, PETMODEL, PARREG, REGIONS etc).
As a final step before a new HYPE run you must check that there is no downstream subbasin present before an upstream subbasin in the SUBID column. You can use the HYPEtool "sortGeoData" for this (if you have a large model).

B. Splitting one subbasin and add a new time series to Qobs

If you split a subbasin in a present HYPE model (perhaps you want to add a gauging station that is not at all located close to a subbasin outlet) there will be a lot more to think about according to what happens to other HYPE files. In the following example subbasin 313248 has been splitted (divided into 2 subbasins) using the split tool, see Cut and split subbasins. Check that the new subbasin is linked to the correct downstream subbasin. If not, use the link tool to correct and do not forget to do the ending procedure (select all, clean hydro connection, set haroid).

If you are satisfied with the result you now have to recalculate the ELEV_MEAN, ELEV_STD, SLC/DHSLC according to Add spatial data to subbasin

Save your work and export a new HYSS file. You can also export new shapefiles and flowlines since these are change if you think they are useful. This is how the new shapefiles looks like in ArcGIS software.

The new HYSS file has now lost one row (SUBID 313248, marked with red text in original HYSS_GeoData.txt inthe figure beneath) and got two new rows, SUBID 1 and 2 (marked yellow). The columns surrounded by a red square is not added after WHIST and must be transferred to the new GeoData.txt. You can copy the information from the original subbasin to the two new ones.

Here is a short step by step guideline for finalizing the revised model:

GeoData

Open the original GeoData file and the new exported HYSS file in excel.
use the original GeoData file and add the information from the 2 new subbasins (1 and 2).
Copy the infromatio in the columns CENTERX and CENTERY to LONGITUDE and LATITUDE.
SLC´s and DHSLC's not existing for the new subbasins must be set to "0".
If an olake was present in the original GeoData file you will have to check that the correct SUBID get the LAKEDATAID.
Copy any other missing information (PETMODEL, ILREGION, OLREGION, PARREG, REGION) for these from the previous SUBID 313238 and then remove this SUBID (313238) from the GeoData.
Save the new file as a tab separated textfile.

Now it is time to revise the other files according to the new subbasins.

ForcKey.txt is the link between the forcing data and the subbasins. Open the file in excel, go to the row with the original SUBID. Copy this row and paste twice. Change to the SUBID from 313248 to 1 and 2. Remove the old row. Save as tab separated textfile.

Qobs.txt should of course be extended with data for the new subbasin if there is any. Open the current file in excel. Check if there are any discharge data for the previous subbasin 313248, if so, change to the correct new SUBID. If you have observations for the other new subbasin add data in the same format as in the other time series. See example here beneath or read in the HYPE wiki Qobs description

If other optional files are present in the model these also must be corrected if they are SUBID based (GlacierData.txt, MgmtData.txt).

The more you learn about HYPE the easier these revisions will get. It is important to understand how the files are interdependent before making large changes.

Good luck and remember that we have both a WHIST forum and HYPE forum for questions where we and other users can be helpful and answer your questions. See HYPE and WHIST forums.