In GeoSTORM software, the Analysis Specifications command allows the user to define the simulation’s start and end times, as well as the computational time intervals. Each analysis specification defines a time window over which the simulation will be performed. This time window is specified using separate inputs for the start date, start time, end date, and end time. There are no restrictions on the length of the time window or the number of simulation time steps it can include. Additionally, the time interval defined in the analysis specification is used to display time-series results from the simulation.
Note: The Analysis Specifications command is disabled when Rational Method is selected as the hydrology analysis engine in the Scenario Manager dialog box. Refer to this article in our knowledge base to learn more about the hydrology analysis engine.
Follow the steps below to use the Analysis Specifications command:
- From the Analysis ribbon menu, select the Analysis Specifications command.
- The Analysis Specifications dialog box will be displayed, as shown below.
The following sections describe how to define analysis specifications and interact with the above dialog box.
Selecting Analysis Specifications
The Select Analysis Specifications section allows the user to select the analysis ID for which analysis specification data will be defined. In this section, the user can create, delete, and copy existing analysis specification data to a new analysis specification. In addition, the user can navigate between analysis specifications and enter a description for each analysis specification.
The following entries are provided in this section:
- Analysis ID
This dropdown combo box lists all the analysis specifications defined in the current project. Click on the edit option (i.e., the pencil icon) to edit the analysis specification ID. The user can navigate between the previous and next analysis specification using the Up and Down arrow buttons. Note that the Up and Down arrow buttons will be disabled (i.e., grayed out) if the current project contains a single analysis specification.
- Description
This optional text field allows the user to enter additional information that describes the current analysis specification.
- New
The [New] button allows the user to create a new analysis specification. The ID of every newly created analysis specification must be unique.
- Copy
The [Copy] button allows the user to copy the current analysis specification along with its associated data to a new analysis specification. The software automatically provides a unique ID to the copied analysis specification.
- Delete
The [Delete] button allows the user to delete the current analysis specification.
Simulation Time Window
The Simulation Time Window section defines when the simulation begins (start date and time) and ends (end date and time). Users can click the [Date] button to open a calendar date selector and select a specific date. Similarly, the user can click the [Time] button to open a 24-hour time selector for choosing a specific time. The Total time read-only field displays the total duration of the simulation.
Simulation Time Specifications
The Simulation Time Specifications section defines the computational time step to be used in the simulation.
The following entries are provided in this section:
- Hydrology computational interval
This dropdown combo box allows the user to select the time step used in computing runoff from the subbasins. The following options are available in the dropdown combo box:- 1 Minute
- 2 Minutes
- 3 Minutes
- 4 Minutes
- 5 Minutes
- 6 Minutes
- 10 Minutes
- 15 Minutes
- 20 Minutes
- 30 Minutes
- Hydraulic routing computational interval
This dropdown combo box allows the user to select the time step used in routing the flow through the conveyance network. The following options are available in the dropdown combo box:- 1 Second
- 2 Seconds
- 5 Seconds
- 10 Seconds
- 15 Seconds
- 20 Seconds
- 30 Seconds
- 1 Minute
- 2 Minutes
- 5 Minutes
- Minimum variable time step
This dropdown combo box allows the user to select the minimum allowable variable time step used in routing computations. The default value is 0.5 second. The following options are available in the dropdown combo box:- 0.5 Second
- 1 Second
- 2 Seconds
- 5 Seconds
- 10 Seconds
- 15 Seconds
- 20 Seconds
- 30 Seconds
- 1 Minute
- 2 Minutes
- 3 Minutes
- 4 Minutes
- 5 Minutes
- 6 Minutes
- 10 Minutes
- 15 Minutes
- 20 Minutes
- 30 Minutes
- 60 Minutes
Note: The Minimum variable time step dropdown combo box is enabled only when Hydrodynamic is selected as the flow routing method in the Scenario Manager dialog box.