Generate Spill plume factoring in volume.

Question

Ack, spatial Analyst brain not functioning as well as I would like right now. Alright I know I did this �??back in the day�?�, but unfortunately that was 8+ years ago and was using a custom written ArcObjects application (which I didn�??t write)

I have a point dataset with a calculated liquid discharge volume on it for each point. I want to create a raster/polygon that corresponds to the �??spread�?� that gets created from each discharge point.

As an example a hypothetical point has a discharge of 1000 Cubic Meters and my DEM is a 30M cell size. For testing purposes let�??s just say each cell �??absorb�?� 5 Cubic Meters so ideally I want a product that can represent something that�??s roughly 200 cells.

The best posting I found that addressed this so far was one from 3 years ago but it isn�??t exactly what I want.
http://forums.esri.com/thread.asp?c=93&f=995&t=225744

I can generate a linear �??raindrop�?� trace from each point to the boundaries  of the DEM, and I can do the down gradient analysis fairly easily from the forums posting above. But ideally I want to replicate something that would show some overland pooling and stop when the product is done.

Any thoughts /suggestions would be appreciated. I'm assuming this can be done with standard tools but I very well might be wrong...

-e

Caveats : At the end of the project I ideally want to pass this toolbox around to some others who will not have Admin rights on their computers. Therefore the solution needs to be some sort of combination of �??out of the box�?� Python/Model Builder (or even VBA)with Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst  (No Geo Hec-RAS, Arc Hydro etc..)

EricFinnen · Answer

Eric, were you able create any polygons? I started working on a similar task, and I was looking into path distance tool initially, however creating the cost surface and incorporate the initial volume seems tricky. 
Thanks
Kagan

Kagan

Sorry for the slow reply. 🙂 The short answer is no. I pitched what I had to the higher ups. Generate point spills with volumes, with linear directions of flow. And how it would be a much cooler application with polygons in it then lines, but at the moment I am in a holding pattern with it. I hope to blow the dust off it in another couple of weeks.

KaganKuyu · Answer

Eric, were you able create any polygons? I started working on a similar task, and I was looking into path distance tool initially, however creating the cost surface and incorporate the initial volume seems tricky. 
Thanks
Kagan

EricFinnen · Answer

Thanks for the help. I need/want this to be entirely cased within the standard toolset for ArcGIS. So with that in mind I think I'll just ignore the "advanced" pooling for now. I will take your process from above and use it for the downhill trace with "cutoff" when the flow expires.

IDRISI, boy that is a name I hadn't heard in a few years.

-e