Generate Spill plume factoring in volume.

[EricFinnen]

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]

Bill

Thanks for the reply. I'm out of the office for a couple of days and look forward to giving that process a whack in Tuesday when I get back.

Thanks again
-e

[EricFinnen]

Bill
Back from vacation and hitting this problem again 🙂 Your reply was actually one step ahead of what I was looking for (and I fully plan on using it when I get there�?�.)/Please bear in mind I fully acknowledge the answer might be �??You can�??t do that with out of the box tools�?�

What I�??m looking to do is generate more of a polygon/raster from each point that does not work out to a single line feature tracking the steepest slope downhill.

Two Examples come to mind , one of them is basically no gradient whereas the other one has an upgradient aspect:

1) A point source on a totally flat area that is flat for miles around. I would want expect the  analysis to return something roughly circular in shape, with the number of pixels in the analysis working out to whatever the value was from the source located in the center (200 from example above)
2) If the flow line ran into a sink, I would want the analysis to �??spread�?� out of the sink (upgradient) till it met its next area where it could continue its path downstream.  The �??spreading�?� would obviously assess the cost per each pixel that it moves

-e

[EricFinnen]

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

[KaganKuyu]

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]

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.