**CAP User Manual (ArcView Prototype v. 1.2)**

**last modified (June 13, 2007)**

**OUTLINE**

1.  [Summary of CAP Functionality](#summary)

2.  [Updates and Plans]{.underline}

    1.  [Changes from v. 1.0](#user) to 1.1

    2.  [IMPORTANT: Bug fix on Dec. 5, 2006 related to snow cover
        data]{.underline}

    3.  Changes from v. 1.1 to 1.2 (June 13, 2007)

    4.  Future of CAP

    5.  Obtaining the software and data (June 13, 2007)

3.  [Software Requirements](#software)

4.  [Data Description](#data)

5.  [User Instructions](#user)

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1.  []{#summary .anchor}**SUMMARY of CAP FUNCTIONALITY**

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1.  Derive area-elevation curves

    1.  Export area-elevation information directly to MCP input deck
        format

2.  Sub-divide basins based on elevation zones

3.  Derive elevation-precipitation plots

4.  Display defined zones on top of other data layers (e.g.
    precipitation, elevation)

5.  Compute **basin** mean, max, and min values of: (may also compute
    for each elevation zone defined within a basin)

    -   precipitation (monthly, annual, and seasonal)

    -   potential evaporation (monthly, annual, and seasonal)

    -   potential evaporation adjustment factors

    -   percent forest

    -   percent of each forest type

    -   soil-based estimates for 11 SAC-SMA parameters

    -   Mean annual temperature (°C) used in the frozen ground model
        (TBOT)

> (Note: A user can also display any of the grids that go into these
> calculations, plus the basic soil grids that went into the SAC-SMA
> parameter estimation.)

6.  Compute the dominant soil texture in a basin's upper layer (STXT)
    used in the frozen ground modeol (upper layer as defined by the
    SAC-SMA a-priori parameters)

7.  Display NOHRSC historical snow images from (1990-2003)

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2.  []{#software .anchor}**UPDATES AND PLANS**

    1.  **CHANGES FROM VERSION 1.0 to 1.1**

-   PE Adjustment values are now computed.

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-   11 Soil based SAC-SMA parameters are estimated. Basic soil grids
    including texture, hydrologic soil group, and depth to bedrock are
    also included in the database for reference.

-   The menu item \"Pre-compute Statistics\" has been added. Given a
    Shapefile of basin boundaries, this function pre-computes statistics
    for all defined basins and all parameters. By pre-computing these
    values, the user can now run the \"Statistics\" function quickly to
    view detailed about individual basins. Prior to this modification,
    the \"Statistics\" function was time consuming, as statistics were
    calculated for an individual basin at run time. The new function
    should take less than a minute while the old function might have
    taken 20 minutes. If the user sub-divides a basin into zones,
    \"Statistics\" will take longer because the pre-computed statistics
    can no longer be used. To compute all of the possible statistics
    when zones are defined, data in 57 different input grids must be
    accessed and summarized so this may take several minutes but still
    not as long as in v. 1.0.

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-   The new menu item \"Create SubView for Selected Basin\" was formerly
    called \"Clip Data for Selected\" basin. The purpose of this Menu
    item remains the same; however, the underlying processing steps have
    been changed to improve speed. In v. 1.0 numerous grids (including
    elevation, monthly and annual PPT and PE, etc.) were clipped to the
    area of the selected basin, resampled to the same cell resolution as
    the DEM, and stored for later use. All of this clipping and
    resampling was not necessary so most of it has been eliminated in v.
    1.1. There is now an option to load previously saved data files to
    reconstruct a formerly created subbasin View. It is also possible
    now to create a subbasin View for multiple selected basins; however,
    if this is done, the \"Plot Graph\", \"Subdivide Basin\" options
    will operate on the entire area selected rather than individual
    subbasins. The \"Statistics\" program has not yet been modified to
    operate from a subbasin View with multiple basins.

-   A new button (![](media/image1.png){width="0.23958333333333334in"
    height="0.21875in"}) will automatically convert legend units from
    metric to English or from English back to the native Theme units
    (metric).

-   Elevation levels corresponding to 10%, 50%, and 90% percent of basin
    area are now automatically plotted on area-elevation curves.

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-   The meaning of the Detailed Forest Percent numbers has been
    clarified in the instructions [below.](#detailed_forest)

-   A new sub-menu (Export OFS-MAPX Area Definitin) that helps define
    MAPX areas for the National Weather Service Forecast System

    1.  **IMPORTANT: Bug fix on Dec. 5, 2006 related to snow cover
        data**

> Bug description (12/5/2006): The menu item Cap \--\> Snow Data brings
> up a dialog called \"cap.snowview\". This dialog allows you to select
> dates for which you want to display snow grids. The script then loads
> all selected files as themes into ArcView, sets appropriate legends,
> and names each Theme. The bug was that the names assigned to each
> Theme were incorrect in many cases.
>
> A typical Theme name is \"1992-2-14 Window 02\". The actual grid file
> corresponding to this date has a name like \"a02g92045\" where the
> \"02\" means Window 2, the \"92\" means 1992, and the \"045\" means
> the image corresponds to the 45th day of the year (February 14). The
> bug was that the date strings used to construct Theme names were
> sorted for easy navigation in the selection dialog, but the
> corresponding file names were not sorted at the same time. Therefore,
> some Themes were likely to be labeled with incorrect names.
>
> This bug may have gone unnoticed in some situations since the sorting
> of file names (which include date information) and date strings may
> not be much different, causing no obvious seasonal differences.
> However, the fourth character in the file name is not always \"g\" as
> in the example above (could be \"a\", \"e\", \"c\"). This can cause
> some major errors in the naming of Themes (e.g. a grid from April
> could have been labeled as if it was from January). This is how the
> bug was detected.
>
> This bug has been corrected and the Extension containing the corrected
> Avenue script (cap.snowview is the script name) can be downloaded from
> this page. The raw data grids have always been valid and any users who
> chose to load these grids manually rather than using the CAP tool Cap
> \--\> Snow Data would not have encountered this problem.

2.  **CHANGES FROM V. 1.1 TO 1.2 (JUNE 13, 2007)**

-   New snow cover data are provided. This includes all "snow, no snow,
    and cloud cover", 1-km, satellite based images available from NOHRSC
    from 1996 -- 2003. Previously only images from 1990-1995 were
    provided in CAP format. The data were taken from NOHRSC CD-ROMs and
    then processed into a format and map projection usable by CAP. These
    data are available for Alaska even though many of the other data
    sets provided with CAP do not cover Alaska.

-   Changes to CAP scripts were made to account for slightly different
    file names in the snow cover data. The menu item CAPSnow Data will
    work with the new data.

-   Grids to support the frozen ground model are now provided. This
    includes a grid of mean annual temperature (°C) (TBOT) and a grid of
    the dominant soil texture in a basin's upper layer (STXT). Integer
    codes are used to discriminate soil textures as follows:

> 0 ND No data
>
> 1 S Sand
>
> 2 LS Loamy sand
>
> 3 SL Sandy loam
>
> 4 SIL Silt loam
>
> 5 SI Silt
>
> 6 L Loam
>
> 7 SCL Sandy clay loam
>
> 8 SICL Silty clay loam
>
> 9 CL Clay loam
>
> 10 SC Sandy clay
>
> 11 SIC Silty clay
>
> 12 C Clay

-   Changes to CAP scripts were made to allow computation of statistics
    for zones or basins using the new frozen ground grids. Average, min,
    and max statistics for TBOT and dominant texture for STXT.

-   Changes to scripts were made to allow most functions to run properly
    on a Windows XP operating system

    1.  Changed the default path name for command.com.

    2.  Changed the use of the system.execute Avenue command.

    3.  **Note: The output directory path should not contain any numbers
        when running CAP on a Windows XP machine (e.g. do not name a
        directory "output2").** The same rule likely applies to other
        Windows operating systems but has not been tested.

    4.  The OFS PPINIT, Run \@ORDER, and Load OFS Data menu items are
        automatically disabled if the operating system is Windows.

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    1.  **FUTURE OF CAP (June 13, 2007)**

> The future of CAP is uncertain since ArcView 3.1 may go away as part
> of baseline AWIPS. Regardless of the software evolution of CAP,
> improved a-priori SAC parameters will be provided in a GIS compatible
> format as they become available from ongoing projects.

2.  **OBTAINING CAP SOFTWARE AND DATA (June 13, 2007)**

> The CAP extension (cap_2007.avx), this User Manual (CAP User
> Manual.doc), and the installation and data notes
> (CAP_install_and_data_download.doc) are available from the NWS AWIPS
> Local Applications Database (LAD)
> (http://www.mdl.nws.noaa.gov/\~applications/LAD/index.php3).

3.  **SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS**

ArcView v. 3.1 (ESRI)

Spatial Analyst Extension 1.1 (ESRI)

CAP Extension (NWS-HL) (\~ 5000 lines of code)

The OFS PPINIT, Run \@ORDER, and Load OFS Data options require
NWSRFS.[]{#data .anchor}

4.  **DATA DESCRIPTION**

Each RFC is provided with the data sets listed in Table 1 for their
service area. Upon installation, these data sets should be stored in the
same directory as the ThreshR data sets. The same DEM data are used by
both applications. Although not required for CAP, other data sets used
in ThreshR may be loaded into the same ArcView View as the CAP data for
reference. A list of the data sets available with ThreshR is provided at
<http://hsp.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hrl/gis/data.html#section211>.

The data provided with CAP were collected from several sources
(specified in Table 1). For many of the data sets, the source of
information is listed as the National Operational Hydrologic Remote
Sensing Center (NOHRSC). In some cases NOHRSC is distributing
reformatted or modified data from other government organizations (e.g.
EPA, U.S. Forest Service). If so, this is explained on the NOHRSC web
pages. CAP data are stored and displayed in the same map projection used
for ThreshR ([Albers Equal-Area
projection](http://hsp.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hrl/gis/data.html#section212)).

**Table 1. Data Sets Used by CAP**

  -------------- ----------------- ------------------ ------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  **Data Name**  **Sub-directory   **Description**    **Format**   **Data Source**
                 Location (if                                      
                 applicable)**                                     

  Dem            \-                400 m digital      Arc/Info     NOHRSC 15 arc-second data projected into Albers, NOHRSC created the 15 arc-second DEM by
                                   elevation model    Grid         resampling USGS 3 arc-second DEM data

  For_pct        ./forest          Percent forest     Arc/Info     [Http://www.nohrsc.nws.gov/98/html/gisdata.htm](http://www.nohrsc.nws.gov/98/html/gisdata.htm)
                                   cover for \~ 1 km  Grid         
                                   pixels                          

  For_type       ./forest          Forest cover types Arc/Info     [Http://www.nohrsc.nws.gov/arcinfo/for_type.txt](http://www.nohrsc.nws.gov/arcinfo/for_type.txt)
                                   for CONUS (\~ 1km  Grid         
                                   pixels)                         

  Pptann,        ./prism           PRISM Annual and   Arc/Info     [Http://www.ocs.orst.edu/prism/prism_new.html](http://www.ocs.orst.edu/prism/prism_new.html)
  pptjan,                          monthly            Grid         
  pptfeb,                          precipitation                   
  pptmar, etc.                     \[inches\] (\~ 5                
                                   km grid cells)                  

  Peann, pejan,  ./pe              Annual and monthly Arc/Info     [PE Grids](#pe)
  pefeb, pemar,                    potential          Grid         
  etc                              evaporation                     
                                   \[inches\] (\~ 10               
                                   km grid cells)                  

  adjjan,        ./pe              PE adjustment      Arc/Info     [PE Adjustment Grids](#peadj)
  adjfeb, \                        grids (\~ 10 km    Grid         
  adjmar, etc.                     grid cells)                     

  SAC-SMA        ./sacsma          11 grids (1 km     Arc/Info     [Soil-based SAC-SMA estimates](#SAC-SMA)
  Parameter                        resolution)        Grid         
  Grids                                                            

  soil depth,    ./soil            grids (1 km        Arc/Info     [Description](#basicsoil)
  soil texture,                    resolution),       Grid         
  and hydrologic                   texture (11                     
  soil group                       layers) and                     
  grids                            hydrologic soil                 
                                   group grids have                
                                   multiple values                 
                                   assigned to each                
                                   cell                            

  Soil texture   ./frozen          Dominant soil      Arc/Info     
  (STXT)                           texture in the     grid         
                                   upper layer of                  
                                   each HRAP grid                  
                                   cell                            

  Avereage       ./frozen          Average annual                  
  Annual                           temperature (°C)                
  Temperature                                                      
  (TBOT)                                                           

  Snow cover     ./snow            Remote sensing     Arc/Info     NOHRSC CD-ROMs
  grids                            images from NOHRSC Grid         
                                   indicating snow,                
                                   no snow, or cloud               
                                   cover for specific              
                                   days and                        
                                   geographic                      
                                   windows. Data are               
                                   from 1990 -- 2003               

  windows.shp    ./snow            Windows defining   Polygon      Created at OHD from images on NOHRSC CD-ROM
                                   the spatial extent Shapefile    
                                   of snow cover                   
                                   grids                           

  Bsns_xxp.shp   \-                RFC basin boundary Polygon      <http://www.nohrsc.nws.gov/98/html/gisdata.htm> \-- basin boundaries at this site are distributed
                                   Shapefile. Basins  Shapefile    in Arc/Info coverage format. These files have been converted to Shapefiles for use in CAP. 
                                   from NOHRSC web                 
                                   site are delivered              
                                   with CAP. Users                 
                                   can substitute any              
                                   polygon Shapefile               
                                   of boundaries they              
                                   wish. The only                  
                                   requirement is                  
                                   that a field with               
                                   a unique basin                  
                                   identifier exists.              
                                   This identifier                 
                                   should be                       
                                   character string.               
                                   In the boundary                 
                                   files obtained                  
                                   from NOHRSC, this               
                                   field is                        
                                   \"ch5_id\" which                
                                   contains the                    
                                   \"COMS Handbook 5               
                                   ID for the outlet               
                                   point.                          

  Statekey.shp   \-                State boundaries   Polygon      USGS
                                   \-- used for       Shapefile    
                                   reference only.                 

  Rfcbound.shp   \-                RFC boundary or    Polygon      <http://www.nohrsc.nws.gov/98/html/gisdata.htm>
                                   buffered RFC       Shapefile    
                                   boundary for                    
                                   reference                       

  Rf1.shp        \-                EPA\'s river reach PolyLine     RF1 files were edited by NOHRSC for use in IHABBs; at HL, files were imported into Arc/Info format
                                   file 1 (RF1)       Shapefile    and then converted to Shapefiles; further editing was done to ensure that streams in coastal areas
                                                                   extend past the edge of the DEM and into an ocean or great lake 
  -------------- ----------------- ------------------ ------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[]{#pe .anchor}[Potential Evaporation (PE) Grids]{.underline}

The method for deriving these grids is described in unpublished work by
V. Koren, J. Schaake, Q. Duan, M. Smith, and S. Cong (August 13, 1998).
Information from seasonal and annual free water surface evaporation maps
(PE) in NOAA Technical Report 33 and mean monthly station data from NOAA
Technical Report 34 were used to derive an equation that predicts
long-term mean daily variability of PE. This equation was used to derive
the monthly PE grids delivered with CAP. Summing the monthly values
yields a consistent result with the annual and seasonal maps in NOAA
Technical Report 33.

[]{#peadj .anchor}[PE Adjustment Grids]{.underline}

Also described in unpublished work by V. Koren, J. Schaake, Q. Duan, M.
Smith, and S. Cong (August 13, 1998), these PE adjustment grids were
derived using an empirical function relating PE adjustment factors to
green vegetation fraction data. The empirical relationship was developed
using PE adjustment factors derived from calibration of the SAC-SMA
model and montly values of green vegetation fraction data from NCEP data
sets.

[]{#SAC-SMA .anchor}[Soil-based SAC-SMA Parameter Grids]{.underline}

A conference paper describes the theory behind these parameter
estimates: [\"Use of Soil Property Data in the Derivation of Conceptual
Rainfall-Runoff Model
Parameters\"](http://hsp.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hrl/distmodel/abstracts.htm#abstract_7)
(only the abstract is currently available online). The SAC-SMA parameter
grids derived from soil data may be useful in assisting with current
manual and automatic calibration procedures, not used in place of
current procedures. Initial tests in applying these soil-based estimates
have yielded mixed results for different parts of the country when
compared with manually calibrated results.

Note: In the initial delivery of SAC-SMA grids to River Forecast
Centers, some grids were stored as real values. Parameter grids are now
stored as integer values for efficiency (This change applies to
parameter grids distributed after 1/1/2002). The CAP programs have not
been modified to account for this change. This means that if you run the
CAP \--\> Statistics option, the table of statistics with SACSMA
parameters will report some parameters multiplied by the following
factors:

> parameter multiplied_by\
> uzk         100\
> rexp        100\
> lzsk        1000\
> lzpk        10,000\
> pfree       100

[]{#basicsoil .anchor}[Basic Soil Information]{.underline}

The three basic soil grids used to derive the SAC-SMA Parameter Grids
are included with the CAP database for reference. These grids, created
by scientists at Penn State using information in the USDA STATSGO
database, were obtained from
http://dbwwww.essc.psu.edu/dbndx/tree/amer_n/us_48/data/soilprop/statsgo_albers.html

> 1\. soil_depth = mean depth to bedrock (cm)
>
> A caution from
> http://dbwwww.essc.psu.edu/dbndx/tree/amer_n/us_48/data/soilprop/statsgo_albers.html:
>
> \"Many STATSGO Component table entries for depth to bedrock used 60
> inches (152 cm) to indicate that bedrock was not encountered within
> this distance of the surface. As a result, the mean depth to bedrock
> values in this dataset should be used primarily to identify mapunits
> in which bedrock may be encountered at depths shallower than 152 cm.\"
>
> 2\. soil_dom = dominant soil texture class \-- 11 layers
>
> 3\. soil_hsgpct = percentage of soil in a given hydrologic soil group

Data layers defining other soil properties can be downloaded from the
web site given above.

Note: Creating the gridded (\~ 1 km) soil property grids from STATSGO
required numerous assumptions and approximations. These assumptions are
documented on the Penn State web site.

5.  []{#user .anchor}**USER INSTRUCTIONS**

When the CAP Extension is loaded into ArcView, the CAP Main Menu is
visible when a View Document is active. The CAP Main Menu contains 9
items as described below.

> **CAP Main Menu**

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  **CAP**

  \(1\) Setup

  \(2\) Pre-compute Statistics

  \(3\) Create SubView for Selected Basin

  \(4\) Plot Graph

  \(5\) Subdivide Basin

  \(6\) Statistics

  \(7\) Snow Data

  \(8\) OFS PPINIT

  \(9\) Run \@ORDER

  \(10\) Load OFS Data

  \(14\) Clear Object Tags

  \(15\) View Object Tags
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

\(1\) SETUP

Setup does the following:

-   Prompts for the directory name where input data are located.

-   Version 1.1.6 and later will ask whether you are an HL user or an
    RFC user.  All non-HL users should choose the RFC user option.

-   Asks the user to select their RFC from a list of  RFCs.

-   Checks to make sure that data subdirectories \"prism\", \"pe\",
    \"snow\", \"forest\", and \"legends\", exist. If any of these
    subdirectories is missing, the setup program cannot continue. Note:
    If for some reason you are missing one of these subdirectories and
    still want to continue, you can use file system commands (e.g.
    mkdir) to create an empty directory with the name of the missing
    directory. If you do this, you should rerun setup. Many CAP
    functions will still work. The exceptions would be statistical
    calculations based on the data you are missing.

-   Prompts for the name of a directory where CAP output files will be
    written. Setup sets the ArcView Project Working Directory based on
    this user specified directory.

-   Renames the active View to \"RFC View\"

-   Loads the following Themes into the RFC View (see Table 1 for more
    descriptions of these Themes):

-   Grids: dem, for_pct, for_type, peann, pptann

-   Shapefiles: bsns_xxp.shp, statekey.shp, rfcbound.shp, rf1.shp,
    windows.shp (xx is the two letter RFC identifier, e.g. \"nw\" for
    Northwest)

-   Sets default legends for for_type, rf1.shp, rfcbound.shp,
    regions.shp, bsns_xxp.shp, pptann, dem

-   Stores pointers to the loaded Themes in an object tag associated
    with the View.

[Notes:]{.underline}

Annual precipitation (ppt) and potential evaporation (pe) grids are
loaded automatically into your RFCView, but the monthly ppt and pe grids
are not loaded. This is done to avoid cluttering up the Table of
Contents in your View. If you wish to display the monthly files, you can
load them manually from the \"prism\" or \"pe\" subdirectories using
![](media/image2.png){width="0.2708333333333333in" height="0.21875in"}.
Grids of PE adjustment can also be viewed in this way.

Legends are initially hidden so that the names of all available Themes
can be seen in the Table of Contents without too much scrolling. Use
**Theme  Hide/Show Legend** to see Legends for the Themes of your
choice. Default shading schemes and symbols have been assigned for
bsns_xxp.shp, rfcbound.shp, rf1.shp, pptann, and dem.

\(2\) Pre-compute statistics **\*\* PRE-COMPUTE STATISTICS SHOULD ONLY
BE RUN WHEN \"RFCView\" (the main view) IS ACTIVE\*\***

Given a Shapefile of basin boundaries, this function pre-computes
statistics for all defined basins and all parameters with available
grids. The user is prompted for:

1.  the subbasin Theme name

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1.  a field with a 5 character basin identifier

2.  a field with a unique integer identifier

Note: Any polygon Shapefile that contains a field with a 5 character
identifier and a field with a unique integer identifier can be used.

Pre-compute statistics creates a new directory called \"stats\"
underneath the CAP output directory specified during setup. Several data
files are written to this directory:

-   elv.dbf \-- contains mean, max, and min elevations and mean, max,
    and min percent forest for each basin

-   pe.dbf \-- contains mean, max, and min potential evaporation for
    each month and annual for each basin

-   ppt.dbf \-- contains mean, max, and min precipitation for each month
    and annual for each basin

-   sacsma.dbf \-- contains mean, max, and min of 11 SAC-SMA parameter
    estimates for each basin

-   frz.dbf

This subprogram only needs to be run once for an RFC unless basin
boundary files are updated.

\(3\) Create Sub View for Selected Basin

This menu item becomes available when two conditions are met: (1) if one
and only one polygon Theme is active and (2) if one or more basins in
the active Theme is selected. The active Theme should be your basin
boundary Shapefile Theme (e.g. bsns_xxp.shp). The basin of interest can
be selected using standard ArcView selection capabilities:

-   Visual selection with the mouse using
    ![](media/image3.png){width="0.23958333333333334in"
    height="0.19791666666666666in"}

-   Using ![](media/image4.png){width="0.25in"
    height="0.20833333333333334in"}to select the basin based on its
    handbook 5 (ch5_id or shef_id) attribute:

Example ![](media/image4.png){width="0.25in"
height="0.20833333333333334in"} dialog for selecting basin \"LEDC2\":
![](media/image5.png){width="4.40625in" height="2.7708333333333335in"}

When a basin in **bsns_xxp.shp** is selected, you can click on \"Create
SubView for Selected Basin.\" If you select your basin by name using
![](media/image4.png){width="0.25in" height="0.20833333333333334in"},
the \"Create SubView for Selected Basin\" menu item may not become
available until you perform an action that will cause the View Update
scripts to run. An easy way to do this is to simply make the Project
Window active and then make the View window active again.

The user is prompted to \"Select a field with a 5 character basin
identifier\". The \"shef_id\" field or the \"ch5_id\" field in the
NOHRSC basin boundary files is typically suitable. In a minute or so. .
.

-   A new View is created. Typical name: \"Selected Basin View: LEDC2\"
    (LEDC2 is the ch5_id \-- this will vary).

-   Several clipped data sets are added to this View: a polygon
    shapefile containing the boundary of the selected basin, rf1
    streams, and grids of forest type, forest percent, mean annual PE,
    mean annual PPT, and a DEM.

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-   A new subdirectory of your user specified output directory is
    created to store the clipped data sets. The name of this directory
    is the same as the 5 character basin identifier in lowercase. If a
    subdirectory with this name already exists, the user is prompted
    with the dialog:

![](media/image6.png){width="3.96875in" height="1.40625in"}

-   Initially in the output View, only the river line Themes and
    selected subbasin boundary Theme are turned on. As with the Main
    View, legends are initially hidden but can be made visible using
    Theme  Hide/Show Legend.

\(4\) PLOT GRAPH

The Plot Graph, Subdivide Basin, Statistics, and Snow Data menu options
become available only when the Subbasin View is the active document.
Plot graph dialog:

![](media/image7.png){width="5.645833333333333in"
height="2.6770833333333335in"}

Graph type options include \"Area vs. Elevation\" and \"PRISM PPT vs.
Elevation\". When we get the PRISM temperature data in the CAP database,
the \"PRISM TMP vs. Elevation\" option will become available.

An Area vs. Elevation plot can be used to help to determine whether the
basin should be subdivided into zones. If multiple zones have already
been defined (see 4 below), graphs can be made for selected zones rather
than the entire basin. The \"Plot\" button becomes active when the Graph
Type is selected. Computations of points to plot may take several
seconds. The plotting points are computed by dividing the elevation data
into zones based on equal intervals between the minimum and maximum
elevation points. Mean elevation and mean precipitation are computed for
each of these zones. The \"# of points\" option allows the user to
specify the number of zones. Note that if you are planning to write data
cards 3A and 3B for Snow 17, there is a limit of 12 points used to
define the area-elevation curve (not including the max and min points).

An example plot for HOTI1 in NWRFC is shown below. The black points are
the mean values for each of 12 elevation zones. The 10th, 50th, and 90th
percentile points are plotted in green.

![](media/image8.png){width="5.995833333333334in"
height="4.509027777777778in"}

The graphing functionality in CAP is implemented by drawing graphics in
a new type of document called a \"CAPGraph\" rather than using the
default ESRI Chart Document, which has some serious limitations. The
CAPGraph document is a modification of the default ESRI View document.
Using CAPGraph to plot data is somewhat of an experiment but it seems to
work o.k. so far, and offers some significant advantages.

When a CAPGraph document is active (e.g. the \"Area vs. Elevation for
hoti1\" shown above), the following buttons and tools are available to
the user. Help for a button or tool will appear at the bottom of the
ArcView Window when the mouse is positioned over it.

![](media/image9.png){width="0.25in" height="0.21875in"} Displays a
dialog with an x-y coordinate list of the points displayed on the plot.
The \"X-Y Coordinates\" dialog contains a \"Copy\" button, which can be
used to copy the data to the system Clipboard and subsequently to a text
editor like Nedit. All text displayed in the dialog will be copied to
the clipboard, independent of any text selection. The \"OK\" button in
the \"X-Y Coordinates\" dialog dismisses the dialog.

![](media/image10.png){width="0.23958333333333334in" height="0.21875in"}
Write Cards 3A and 3B for Snow 17. Creates an ASCII file. A message is
provided to the user specifying the location of this ASCII file.

![](media/image11.png){width="0.23958333333333334in"
height="0.20833333333333334in"} Provide a report on selected statistics
for Area-elevation curves. Reports the elevation values below which 10%,
50%, and 90% of the basin lies.

![](media/image12.png){width="1.3645833333333333in"
height="0.19791666666666666in"} These are standard tools borrowed from
the ArcView View GUI. The tools can be used to add text to the CAPGraph
window; draw points, lines or polygons; select, move, or delete selected
graphic objects (note: everything shown in the CAPGraph window is a
graphic object); pan; zoom in; and zoom out.

![](media/image13.png){width="0.22916666666666666in" height="0.21875in"}
Return the graph coordinates (X,Y) of any point in the CAPGraph window
clicked by the mouse. This can be any point \-- on or off the plotted
line.

**Printing:** The graph can be printed using standard ArcView print
capabilities. **File \--\> Print.**\
**WARNING:** If you unload the CAP extension, any CAPGraph plots that
you have made will automatically be removed from your project.

\(5\) SUBDIVIDE BASIN

Brings up the following dialog:

![](media/image14.png){width="4.1875in" height="3.09375in"}

The minimum and maximum elevations are specified by default. The user
can select number of elevation breaks desired. 1 break means two
elevation zones will be created. 2 breaks means 3 zones, etc. The user
can select up to 4 elevation breaks. The user has the opportunity to
type in elevation values at which breaks should occur.

The \"Equal Interval\" can be used to set equal interval breaks.\
The \"Clear\" button clears all previously entered breaks.\
Click \"OK\" and two new Themes will be added to your Subbasin View:

-   Zones1 \-- a Grid of zones; in a case with two zones, the grid cell
    values in this grid will be 1 and 2, etc.

-   Zonesp1.shp \-- a polygon of the zone boundary

After subdividing a basin, the user can go back and create graphs for
individual zones if desired.

\(6\) STATISTICS

The basin statistics dialog appears as follows:

![](media/image15.png){width="5.020833333333333in"
height="5.614583333333333in"}

This dialog is divided into 3 Sections.

[Top Section]{.underline}\
If the \"Compute All Statistics\" option is selected, then all of the
check boxes in the middle section (\"Only Selected Stats:\") become
available. Otherwise, these check boxes are disabled and all different
types of statistics are automatically computed.

If you have subdivided your current basin into zones, then you can
choose to calculate statistics for zones in addition to basin wide
statistics. Zonal calculations will take considerably longer (several
minutes) than non-zonal calculations (less than 1 minute) because
non-zonal calculations are all pre-computed.

[Middle Section]{.underline}

If you want to display/calculate results for only selected statistics,
do not check the \"Compute All Statistics\" option in the top section
and make your selections in the middle section.

[Bottom Section]{.underline}

For the PRISM precipitation and potential evaporation data, both monthly
and annual statistics are displayed by default. Seasonal totals can be
determined by selecting the box \"Define seasons for precip, temp, and
PE calculations\" and then defining the winter and summer seasons for
your area.

Basin and zonal statistics are summarized in a single table. An example
of a table for a basin with two zones is shown below. This example table
does not show PE adjustment statistics or SAC-SMA parameter estimates
which are now available.

![](media/image16.png){width="5.995833333333334in"
height="4.002083333333333in"}

[]{#detailed_forest .anchor}If the \"Detailed Forest Types\" option is
selected, a separate table called \"Percent Forested Area covered by
Each Forest Type: BasinID\" is created. An example of this table for
basin 2914 is shown here:

![](media/image17.png){width="4.71875in" height="1.6875in"}

The \"Basin Pct\" numbers indicate that 50% of the forested area (not
50% of the total area!) in this basin is covered by Fir-spruce, while
only 6.1% of the forested area in Zone1 and 66.8% of the forested area
in Zone 2 is covered by Fir-spruce. These values are derived using two
input grids obtained from NOHRSC \-- Forest Type and Percent Forest.
Details about the derivation of these data sets is provided in an ASCII
file at the NOHRSC web site. In these grids, a 1 km cell labeled
Fir-spruce in the Forest Type (\"For_type\") grid will likely only be
covered by forest in a fraction of its 1 km2 area, the fraction being
defined by the Percent Forest (\"For_pct\") grid. Therefore, to derive
the \"Basin Pct\" values above, the averages of the for_pct cells
corresponding to each forest type in a basin are computed and then
divided by the total basin forest percent to get the percentages shown
in the table. Numbers in the \"Basin Pct\", \"Zone1 Pct\", and \"Zone2
Pct\" columns should add up to 100%.

[Note:]{.underline} **Statistical calculations may take several minutes
if you are making zonal calculations.**

\(7\) SNOW DATA

NOHRSC has produced a CD of historical snow images derived from remote
sensing. These images indicating one of three pixel states: no snow/no
cloud ( gridcode = 50), clouds (gridcode = 100), snow (gridcode = 250).
Snow images are available for selected days from 1990 - 1995. The data
provided by NOHRSC are organized by Windows. The figure below shows 13
of these windows with the NOHRSC ID numbers as labels.

![](media/image18.png){width="5.572916666666667in" height="4.09375in"}

For each RFC, all of the available snow images for Windows that
intersect your RFC are delivered with the CAP database in the \"snow\"
subdirectory. When a subbasin has been selected, the **Cap \--\> Snow
Data** menu item will determine which snow images are available which
intersect the selected basin and bring up a selection list as shown
below. The user may choose to load a single image or multiple snow
images (hold down Shift key to select multiple images). After clicking
OK, selected images will be loaded. No clipping is done. A default
legend is provided automatically \-- no snow/no clouds = white; snow =
green; clouds = grey.

![](media/image19.png){width="3.75in" height="2.53125in"}

The ![](media/image13.png){width="0.22916666666666666in"
height="0.21875in"} tool could be used with the DEM active to determine
elevation values along the snow line, although the coarseness of the
snow cover data may make this difficult.

Notes:

\* For RFCs with basins that extend into Canada (e.g. NWRFC), the snow
image data may covers these areas, but the PRISM precipitation, PE data,
forest percent, and forest type data does not. The same goes for Mexico.

\(8\) OFS PPINIT

Selecting this option brings up the dialog box shown below, where the
user selects whether to Define, Delete, or Dump one of the PPINIT group
types (i.e. basin, area, and stations).

Define OFS MAPX Area

This option helps define mapx areas for the Operational Forecast System
(OFS). The definition of the mapx area, and the basin(s) it references
are defined in CAP, and can be automatically exported to the NWSRFS
database (fs5files). The process uses some of the existing CAP dataset
and an HRAPP points theme.

Input Data:

-   Basin(s) polygon shapefile

-   HRAPP points shapefile

-   DEM (only needed if you want CAP to compute basin mean elevation)

Steps for Running:

The following steps for using this sub-menu assumes the user already has
a polygon theme in the active view of the basin(s) the mapx area
definition will reference. The figure below shows an example of a basin
that has been subdivided into 3 sub-basins using CAP\'s sub-divide basin
option (5). For the basin below, mapx areas that reference the entire
basin or separate mapx areas that reference the upper, middle, or lower
sub-basins can be defined

1). Under the CAP menu select the option **Define OFS-MAPX Area**. A
dialog box like the one below should appear.

2\) In the dialog box enter:

-   a new mapx area identifier

-   a new mapx area description

3\) Select the fmap area identifier from the scroll list

4\) Enter the basin identifier, basin description, and basin mean
eleavation:^1^

-   select the basin(s) theme (a polygon theme in the active view)

> NOTE: [**the features (basin(s)) the mapx area will reference should
> be
> selected**](http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hrl/calb/cap/images/selectedareas.gif)

-   select a field from the basin theme\'s attribute table containing
    the basin identifier, enter a basin identifier, or use the mapx area
    identifier

-   select a field from the basin theme\'s attribute table contaiing the
    basin description, enter a basin description, or use the mapx area
    description

-   select a field from the basin theme\'s attribute table containing
    the basin mean elevation, or select the dem grid for computing the
    basin mean elevation

5\) Finally,

-   select **Export MAPX Area Definition** or

-   **View MAPX Area Definition**

(For both buttons a dialog box will appear prompting for the location on
disk to save a shapefile of the mapx area)

If **Export MAPX Area Definition** is clicked, the definiton of the mapx
area and its basin(s) it are automatically inserted into the OFS
fs5files. This option uses the geometry of the selected features in the
basin input theme and the information entered in the dialog box to
create an input file in the ppinit input directory for running ofs. The
input file has the form ofs*.*input, where mapxid is the mapx area id
entered in the dialog box. This option assumes the Apps_defaults tokens
(\$ofs_rls, \$ofs_input, and \$my_output) are already set.

If **View MAPX Area Definition** is clicked, an editor window appears
with the the ppinit input file for defining the mapx area and its
basin(s). NOTE: **If you choose this option the mapx area and basin
definitions are not automatically added to the fs5files, they can be
added later by manually running ofs.**

^1^ When field names are specified for basin identifier, basin
description, and basin mean elevation, the values used for each
sub-basin are taken from the basin theme\'s attribute table. When a
string is entered for the basin identifier and more than one sub-basin
is referenced, the basin identifier for each sub-basin is appended with
a number from 1 to the number of sub-basins.

Define OFS Basin

This option is similar to the Define OFS MAPX Area option and is used
the same way. As with the Define MAPX Area dialog box, OFS Basins can be
directly exported to the fs5files or a ppinit input file can ge created
for running ofs later.

Delete OFS MAPX Area

This option brings up the dialog box shown below, where the user can
select one or more mapx areas to delete from the ofs database. After
selecting the areas, an ofs job is execute and displayted on the screen.
Next, a dialog box appears asking whether the mapx area was successfuly
deleted.

Delete OFS Basin

This option is exactly like the Delete OFS MAPX Area option.

Dump OFS MAPX Area

This option brings up the dialog box shown below, where the user can
select one or more mapx areas to import from the ofs database. Importing
an mapx area creates a shapefile in the active view. Each row in the the
shapefile\'s attribute table represents a basin the area references. The
basin identifier, description, area and mean elevation are given for
each basin.

Dump OFS Basin

This option brings up a dialog box like the one for Dump OFS MAPX Area,
where the user can select one or more basins to import from the ofs
database. Importing a basin creates a shapefile in the active view. The
shapefile\'s attribute table contains the basin\'s identifier,
description, area, and mean elevation.