Module Flow Accumulation (Top-Down)
Top-down processing of cells for calculation of flow accumulation and related parameters. This set of algorithms processes a DEM downwards from the highest to the lowest cell.
References:
Deterministic 8
- O'Callaghan, J.F. / Mark, D.M. (1984):
    'The extraction of drainage networks from digital elevation data',
    Computer Vision, Graphics and Image Processing, 28:323-344
Rho 8:
- Fairfield, J. / Leymarie, P. (1991):
    'Drainage networks from grid digital elevation models',
    Water Resources Research, 27:709-717
Braunschweiger Reliefmodell:
- Bauer, J. / Rohdenburg, H. / Bork, H.-R. (1985):
    'Ein Digitales Reliefmodell als Vorraussetzung fuer ein deterministisches Modell der Wasser- und Stoff-Fluesse',
    Landschaftsgenese und Landschaftsoekologie, H.10, Parameteraufbereitung fuer deterministische Gebiets-Wassermodelle,
    Grundlagenarbeiten zu Analyse von Agrar-Oekosystemen, (Eds.: Bork, H.-R. / Rohdenburg, H.), p.1-15
Deterministic Infinity:
- Tarboton, D.G. (1997):
    'A new method for the determination of flow directions and upslope areas in grid digital elevation models',
    Water Resources Research, Vol.33, No.2, p.309-319
Multiple Flow Direction:
- Freeman, G.T. (1991):
    'Calculating catchment area with divergent flow based on a regular grid',
    Computers and Geosciences, 17:413-22
- Quinn, P.F. / Beven, K.J. / Chevallier, P. / Planchon, O. (1991):
    'The prediction of hillslope flow paths for distributed hydrological modelling using digital terrain models',
    Hydrological Processes, 5:59-79
Triangular Multiple Flow Direction
- Seibert, J. / McGlynn, B. (2007):
    'A new triangular multiple flow direction algorithm for computing upslope areas from gridded digital elevation models',
    Water Resources Research, Vol. 43, W04501
    C++ Implementation into SAGA by Thomas Grabs, Copyrights (c) 2007
    Contact: thomas.grabs@natgeo.su.se, jan.seibert@natgeo.su.se 
Multiple Flow Direction based on Maximum Downslope Gradient:
- Qin, C. Z. / Zhu, A. X. / Pei, T. / Li, B. L. / Scholten, T. / Behrens, T. / & Zhou, C. H. (2011):
    'An approach to computing topographic wetness index based on maximum downslope gradient',
    Precision Agriculture, 12(1), 32-43.
- Author: O.Conrad (c) 2001-2014, T.Grabs portions (c) 2010
 
- Specification: grid
 
- Menu: Terrain Analysis|Hydrology|Flow Accumulation
 
Parameters
|   | Name | Type | Identifier | Description | Constraints | 
| Input | Elevation | Grid (input) | ELEVATION | - | - | 
 | Sink Routes (*) | Grid (optional input) | SINKROUTE | - | - | 
 | Weight (*) | Grid (optional input) | WEIGHT | - | - | 
 | Input for Mean over Catchment Calculation (*) | Grid (optional input) | VAL_INPUT | - | - | 
 | Material (*) | Grid (optional input) | MATERIAL | - | - | 
 | Accumulation Target (*) | Grid (optional input) | TARGET | - | - | 
 | Linear Flow Threshold Grid (*) | Grid (optional input) | LINEAR_VAL | optional grid providing values to be compared with linear flow threshold instead of flow accumulation | - | 
 | Channel Direction (*) | Grid (optional input) | LINEAR_DIR | use this for (linear) flow routing, if the value is a valid direction (0-7 = N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW) | - | 
| Output | Flow Accumulation | Grid (output) | CAREA | - | - | 
 | Mean over Catchment | Grid (output) | VAL_MEAN | - | - | 
 | Total accumulated Material (*) | Grid (optional output) | ACCU_TOT | - | - | 
 | Accumulated Material from Left Side (*) | Grid (optional output) | ACCU_LEFT | - | - | 
 | Accumulated Material from Right Side (*) | Grid (optional output) | ACCU_RIGHT | - | - | 
 | Flow Path Length (*) | Grid (optional output) | FLOWLEN | - | - | 
| Options | Step | Integer | STEP | - | Minimum: 1 Default: 1 | 
 | Flow Accumulation Unit | Choice | CAREA_UNIT | - | Available Choices: [0] number of cells [1] cell area Default: 1 | 
 | Method | Choice | METHOD | - | Available Choices: [0] Deterministic 8 [1] Rho 8 [2] Braunschweiger Reliefmodell [3] Deterministic Infinity [4] Multiple Flow Direction [5] Multiple Triangular Flow Directon [6] Multiple Maximum Downslope Gradient Based Flow Directon Default: 4 | 
 | Thresholded Linear Flow | Boolean | LINEAR_DO | apply linear flow routing (D8) to all cells, having a flow accumulation greater than the specified threshold | Default: 0 | 
 | Linear Flow Threshold | Integer | LINEAR_MIN | flow accumulation threshold (cells) for linear flow routing | Default: 500 | 
 | Convergence | Floating point | CONVERGENCE | Convergence factor for Multiple Flow Direction Algorithm (Freeman 1991).
Applies also to the Multiple Triangular Flow Directon Algorithm. | Minimum: 0.000000 Default: 1.100000 | 
 | Suppress Negative Flow Accumulation Values | Boolean | WEIGHT_GT_0 | keep accumulated weights above zero; useful e.g. when accumulating measures of water balance. | Default: 1 | 
| (*) optional | 
Command-line
Usage: saga_cmd ta_hydrology 0 [-ELEVATION <str>] [-SINKROUTE <str>] [-WEIGHT <str>] [-CAREA <str>] [-VAL_INPUT <str>] [-VAL_MEAN <str>] [-MATERIAL <str>] [-TARGET <str>] [-ACCU_TOT <str>] [-ACCU_LEFT <str>] [-ACCU_RIGHT <str>] [-STEP <num>] [-CAREA_UNIT <str>] [-FLOWLEN <str>] [-LINEAR_VAL <str>] [-LINEAR_DIR <str>] [-METHOD <str>] [-LINEAR_DO <str>] [-LINEAR_MIN <num>] [-CONVERGENCE <str>] [-WEIGHT_GT_0 <str>]
  -ELEVATION:<str>  	Elevation
	Grid (input)
  -SINKROUTE:<str>  	Sink Routes
	Grid (optional input)
  -WEIGHT:<str>     	Weight
	Grid (optional input)
  -CAREA:<str>      	Flow Accumulation
	Grid (output)
  -VAL_INPUT:<str>  	Input for Mean over Catchment Calculation
	Grid (optional input)
  -VAL_MEAN:<str>   	Mean over Catchment
	Grid (output)
  -MATERIAL:<str>   	Material
	Grid (optional input)
  -TARGET:<str>     	Accumulation Target
	Grid (optional input)
  -ACCU_TOT:<str>   	Total accumulated Material
	Grid (optional output)
  -ACCU_LEFT:<str>  	Accumulated Material from Left Side
	Grid (optional output)
  -ACCU_RIGHT:<str> 	Accumulated Material from Right Side
	Grid (optional output)
  -STEP:<num>       	Step
	Integer
	Minimum: 1
	Default: 1
  -CAREA_UNIT:<str> 	Flow Accumulation Unit
	Choice
	Available Choices:
	[0] number of cells
	[1] cell area
	Default: 1
  -FLOWLEN:<str>    	Flow Path Length
	Grid (optional output)
  -LINEAR_VAL:<str> 	Linear Flow Threshold Grid
	Grid (optional input)
  -LINEAR_DIR:<str> 	Channel Direction
	Grid (optional input)
  -METHOD:<str>     	Method
	Choice
	Available Choices:
	[0] Deterministic 8
	[1] Rho 8
	[2] Braunschweiger Reliefmodell
	[3] Deterministic Infinity
	[4] Multiple Flow Direction
	[5] Multiple Triangular Flow Directon
	[6] Multiple Maximum Downslope Gradient Based Flow Directon
	Default: 4
  -LINEAR_DO:<str>  	Thresholded Linear Flow
	Boolean
	Default: 0
  -LINEAR_MIN:<num> 	Linear Flow Threshold
	Integer
	Default: 500
  -CONVERGENCE:<str>	Convergence
	Floating point
	Minimum: 0.000000
	Default: 1.100000
  -WEIGHT_GT_0:<str>	Suppress Negative Flow Accumulation Values
	Boolean
	Default: 1