This report card communicates the Channel Area Tool's compliance with the Riverscape Consortium's published tool standards.
Report Card Summary
| Tool | Channel Area Tool |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.1.1 |
| Date | 2021-11-22 |
| Assessment Team | Bailey, Wheaton & Gilbert |
| Current Assessment | Production Grade |
| Riverscapes Compliance | Compliant |
| Assessment Rationale | The tool has been run for a wide geographic area, produces riverscapes projects that are compatible with RAVE, and outputs are available in the riverscapes warehouse. Documentation is still needed, but the tool qualifies for Production Grade. |
Report Card Details
This tool's discrimination evaluation by the Riverscapes Consortium is:
| Criteria | Value | Evaluation | Comments and/or Recommendations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tool Interface(s) | CLI | Pass | |
| Scale | Network (reach scale resolution, watershed extent) | Pass | This tool has been applied across watersheds in various regions; results are reach-scale performed across whole watersheds |
| Language(s) and Dependencies | Python | Pass | Package dependencies are open source |
| Vetted in Peer-Reviewed Literature | The equation used to estimate channel width in areas without NHD polygons is from Beechie and Imaki (2013) | Partial | The width equation used in the tool has been reliable in a variety of landscapes, but was developed for the Columbia River Basin and may give poor results in different landscapes |
| Source Code Documentation | Available at Github repository | Pass | Source code is clearly organized and documented |
| Open Source | open-source with GNU General Public License v 3.0 | Pass | |
| User Documentation | Documentation is in progress | Partial | Documentation is in progress but has not been published to the website |
| Easy User Interface | Tool is accessed via command prompt | Partial | Most projects right now are performed by North Arrow Research analysts. For a user to run this version of the tool themselves would require advanced understanding (programming capability) and significant documentation on the process. |
| Scalability | Batch-processing | Pass | The tool can be batch processed at the HUC 8 level |
| Produces Riverscapes Projects | Yes | Pass | Produces Riverscapes Projects that are fully-compatible with RAVE |
Tool Output Utility
| Criteria | Value | Evaluation | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverscapes Compliant Riverscapes Projects | Yes | Pass | |
| Viewer Business Logic Defined | Yes | Pass | |
| Riverscapes Projects hosted in public-facing Riverscapes Data Exchange | Yes. Current Channel Area projects are being housed in the Riverscapes Data Exchange. | Partial | There is data in the warehouse, but is provisional and wider access to the warehouse is forthcoming |
| Riverscapes Projects connected to Web-Maps | Yes | Pass | Current projects are viewable in WebRAVE through the Riverscapes Warehouse |
| Riverscapes Projects connected to Field Apps | No | Fail |
Developer Intent
The current Production Grade version of Channel Area improves on previous versions by:
- Having an inviting web-map interface so non GIS-users can discover tool runs and explore and interrogate them.
- Making it easy for GIS users to download channel area projects for use in Viwer
- Allowing discovery of past Channel Area runs in Warehouse
The development team envision a Professional Grade version of Channel Area, which would additionally:
- Encourage more user-interaction with Channel Area outputs and crowd-sourcing of information to improve the accuracy of outputs
- Allow users to upload their own Channel Area projects