Exploring terrain analysis using Quantum and GRASS GIS

Purpose

The following tutorial was developed as a course requirement for GEOM 4008 - Advanced Topics in GIS at Carleton University.

Introduction

As the field of Geomatics continues to grow, so does the multitude of Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial tools (FOSS4G). While the functionality of such tools may not be as advanced as some proprietary software, they carry two distinct advantages:

Free - software may be used, studied, modified and distributed without restriction
Open Source - the source code is available to the general public for use and/or modification

When combined with freely available spatial data, FOSS4G tools may perform a variety of powerful functions including geospatial analysis, Digital Elevation Models (DEM), network analysis, etc.

The following tutorial was developed to demonstrate the use of FOSS4G tools and free data to perform a variety of standard terrain analyses. Using Quantum (version 3.8.3 "Zanzibar") and GRASS (version 7.4.1) GIS software this tutorial will show how to:

Download free DEM tiles and other reference data layers from Open Data, the government of Canada open data portal
Identify and import different topographical data formats
Merge multiple tiles to form a continuous DEM
Clip reference layers to match the study area
Create Slope, Aspect, and Hillshade maps
Generate custom Contour maps

Ruggedness Index (Quantum)

Methods

Quantum GIS

Getting Started: Acquiring Software and Data

Step 1 - Downloading Quantum and GRASS GIS
To begin, ensure you have both QGIS and GRASS installed on your computer. They can be downloaded as part of the OSGeo software package OSGEO-Live, and are available for a variety of operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and MacOS X. Click here to go directly to the Quantum GIS download page.

Note - all menus, tool names, or other references were gathered while running the software on a Microsoft Windows platform.

Step 2 - Finding Free Data
All data in this tutorial were retrieved from Open Data, an initiative "implemented to increase the availability of base geospatial data to all Canadians".¹ Open Data is a reliable source for a variety of high-quality Canadian data including:

Administrative Boundaries
Digital Elevation Data
Land Cover
National Road Network
Satellite Imagery

This example uses 1:50,000 scale DEM data near Thunder Bay, Ontario. Click this link to access the Open Data data selection tool. Choose NTS areas 052A06 and 052A11, then Submit. Click the http link next to each dataset to download it. Save everything into a project folder (i.e. Terrain_Analysis_Tutorial).

While it is not strictly necessary, having reference data is always useful to help provide cartographic context. In this case, download the National Road Network data for Ontario in ESRI Shapefile format (under the "changes between editions" heading) here. This may take a few minutes to download. Take a second to look through the files. Notice that there are layers for things like "Toll Points" and "Ferry Segments". Feel free to delete these files as they are not required. Keep only the files with "ROADSEG_MODIFIED" in the name, plus the Readme. This will be easier to work with.

NOTE - You will have to create a username, have a valid e-mail, and login to download data. Don't worry, anyone can do it. Also know that some data sets may be e-mailed to you and not directly downloaded from the Open Data portal.

Data formats

Rarely will your data come directly packaged in a .dem format. You will often be working with .tif files for elevation data or even vector data that you will need to convert to a raster format. This section will go through the most common data formats and how to import them into QGIS and where the different conversion tools are located so that you can manipulate your data using the tools outlined in this tutorial.

raster data (.tif, .dem, .dsm, etc.) Layer » Add Layer » Add Raster Layer...
vector data (.shp, kml, kmz, etc.)
delimited text (.txt, excel, etc.)

web sources (wms, databases, ect.)

Viewing DEM tiles

Start by opening QGIS and loading the DEM tiles. To do this, click the "Add Raster Layer" button. Note - Despite downloading DEM's for only 2 areas, there are 4 tiles to add (see below).

Note that each area is sub-divided into 2 tiles; East and West.
Together, these 4 tiles will form a square study-area.

Once you have added all 4 tiles, the map should look like Figure 1 (yes, a grey square). Don't worry, this is correct. To get it looking like Figure 2, apply a contrast enhancement to the display properties for each tile.

Double-click a layer in the table of contents to open the Properties window
Under the Contrast Enhancement section, choose "Stretch To MinMax" from the drop-down menu
Repeat for all 4 tiles


Figure 1: DEM tiles when first loaded in to QGIS	Figure 2: DEM tiles with contrast enhancement

It is also helpful to see the DEM in colour. Using the same process as above, open the Properties window. This time, change the Colour Map to Pseudocolour. The map should now look like the one below.

Figure 3: DEM tiles with
pseudocolour display

Merging DEM tiles

Performing a merge on the 4 DEM tiles will accomplish two things:

Output map will appear nicer - no lines running through the middle
Terrain analysis can be performed on one continuous DEM as opposed to four separate ones

Quantum has a tool designed specifically for this task. Find the "Merge" tool under the Raster » Miscellaneous menu.

Use the following parameters:

Input Files: Navigate to the folder where you stored the DEM files and select all four
Output File: Specify a file name and location for the merged DEM (i.e.DEM_Merge)
Load into canvas when finished: Check this to load output map into table of contents


Figure 4: Merge tool parameters	Figure 5: Merged DEM map

Adding and manipulating reference data

Now that the DEM looks nice, it may be useful to add some reference data. Click the "Add Vector Layer" button. Navigate to where you saved the Ontario Roads shapefile (.shp) earlier and add it.
Note - It may take a minute or two to show up. This is because the file contains road segments for ALL of Ontario, and is therefore quite large. Once it shows up, right-click on the roads layer in the table of contents and choose "Zoom to Layer Extent" (Figure 7).


Figure 6	Figure 7: Extent of Ontario road segments shapefile

Clearly, we do not the road segments that are outside of the DEM; they only serve to slow things down. This can be accomplished using the Clip tool. Unfortunately, we cannot clip a vector layer (roads) using a raster layer (the DEM). We will have to create a new vector layer to match the extent of the DEM.

Click the "New Shapefile Layer" button
Choose a Polygon type, and click OK
Specify a file name and save it in the same folder as the other data. I chose AOI.shp (Area Of Interest)

The new layer will now appear in the table of contents. Right-click and select "Toggle Editing". This allows new features to be created for the layer. Next, find the "Add Feature tool" on the Digitizing toolbar.
Note - if the toolbar is not visible, toggle it on under the View » Toolbars menu).
Draw a square polygon by clicking on each corner of the DEM. Right-click to finish the polygon and give it an ID of 1. Don't worry about being precise - you can always use the "Node Tool" to edit the vertices. Save the edits and toggle editing off.

Figure 8: New AOI layer
(purple square)

Now, clip the Ontario roads layer to the newly created AOI. This will create a new layer (a subset of the roads layer) that only includes features situated within the AOI.
The Clip tool may be found under the Vector » Geoprocessing Tools menu. Use the following parameters:

Table 1: Clip tool parameters
Parameter	Description
Input vector layer	Roads layer to be clipped [NRN_ON_8_0_ROADSEG_MODIFIED]
Clip layer	The extent to which we went to clip the roads [AOI_Polygon]
Output shapefile	Pick a meaningful name for the new layer [Roads_clipped.shp]

The map should now look something like Figure 9.

Figure 9: DEM with clipped roads layer

Slope and Aspect

Slope maps characterize the degree of terrain slope (typically in degrees) and are excellent for a "quick interpretation of land systems."²
Aspect maps display the cardinal direction of a slope face (i.e. North, West, etc.).³

Both the Slope and Aspect tools may be found under the Raster » Terrain Analysis menu (ensure the Terrain Analysis plugin is enabled). Use the following parameters:

Table 2: Slope and Aspect map creation parameters
Parameter	Description
Elevation Layer	Select the merged DEM
Output Layer and Output Format	Define a new file name Save it as a GeoTIFF
Z factor	Use the default value of 1.0
Add result to project	Check this to add the new layer directly into the table of contents


Figure 10: Slope Map	Figure 11: Aspect Map. Colours represent the direction of slope face.

Note - clearly, the slope map is incorrect. At the moment it appears to be a binary representation of areas with a slope of zero (blue) and areas with a slope greater than zero (red).
I think this is just an issue with symbolization. I have, however, explored many different options and haven't yet found one that is appropriate. Any feedback on this matter is appreciated.

Hillshade

Hillshade maps are typically created for cartographic effect and can make a 2D map appear 3D. Lighting effects are added based on variations in elevation. This is intended to mimic the effects of the sun shining on a landscape (illumination, shadows, etc.) ⁴

The Hillshade tool can be found under the Raster » Terrain Analysis menu.

Table 3: Hillshade map creation parameters
Parameter	Description
Elevation layer	Select the merged DEM
Output layer & format	Define a new file name Save it as a GeoTIFF
Z factor	Use the default value of 1.0
Add result to project	Check this to add the new layer directly into the table of contents
Azimuth	Use the default value 300
Vertical angle	Use the default value of 40

Figure 12: Hillshade map

Contour Maps

A contour is a line that connects "a series of points of equal elevation and are used to illustrate topography, or relief."⁵
Elevation is represented at defined intervals above sea level (typically feet or meters). The distribution of contour lines allows for a quick interpretation of the landscape:

Where contours are close together, the slope is steep
When contours are far apart, the slope is more gradual

In Quantum GIS, find the contour tool under the Raster » Extraction menu.

Table 4: Contour map creation parameters
Parameter	Description
Input file (raster)	Select the merged DEM
Output file	Define a new file name
Interval	Try several different intervals
Load into canvas when finished	Check this to add the new layer directly into the table of contents


Figure 13a: 10m Quantum contour map	Figure 13b: 20m Quantum contour map	Figure 13c: 50m Quantum contour map

Ruggedness Index

This is a unique tool that calculates terrain heterogeneity based on the change in elevation between a grid cell and its neighbouring cells.
"Terrain heterogeneity is an important variable for predicting which habitats are used by species and the density at which species occur across a variety of environments."⁶

The Ruggedness Index tool may be found under the Raster » Terrain Analysis menu.

Table 5: Ruggedness Index parameters
Parameter	Description
Elevation Layer	Select the merged DEM
Output Layer/Format	Define a new file name Save it as a GeoTIFF
Z factor	Use the default value of 1.0
Add result to project	Check this to add the new layer directly into the table of contents

In the development of this index, results were interpreted as follows:

Table 6: Interpretation of ruggedness values
Sum Change in Elevation (m)	Description
0-80	Level
81-116	Nearly Level
117-161	Slightly Rugged
162-239	Intermediately Rugged
240-497	Moderately Rugged
498-958	Highly Rugged
959+	Extremely Rugged

Note - The values above may be misleading because they were applied to a specific case study. For the ruggedness map below, areas become increasingly rugged as they change from light blue to yellow and to red.
Notice the clear outline of the mountain overlooking Thunder Bay at the bottom left of the map.

Figure 14: Ruggedness Index

GRASS GIS

Getting Started: Acquiring Data

At this point you should already have GRASS installed on your computer. If not, please refer to section 3.1.1 (Getting Started: Acquiring Software and Data).

Data acquisition for this portion of the tutorial is not the same as for previous sections - we do not need to find and download the raw data again. We have already done the work to merge 4 DEM tiles into 1 continuous DEM, and to format the reference data. All we need to do is import these files into the GRASS file format.

First, create a new folder in your file directory to store GRASS data files (i.e. GRASS DATA).

Open GRASS. In the "Welcome" screen you are asked to define the following:

Table 7: GRASS GIS project parameters
Parameter	Description	Action
GIS Data Directory	Tells the program where to find your data	Navigate to your newly created "GRASS DATA" folder
Project Location	A project - defined by its coordinate system, map projection and geographical boundaries	Click the Location Wizard button and define a new location called Thunder Bay Choose the "Read projection from a georeferenced data file" option Navigate to and select the Merged_DEM file we created earlier in Quantum
Mapset	A sub-project. Each location can have many mapsets	Click the Create Mapset button and name it Tutorial

Click Start Grass . Notice that the GUI (Graphic User Interface) is a little bit different than Quantum. GRASS uses multiple windows to display information. Three basic windows will appear on start-up:

Command prompt: all tasks can be performed here, but it is often nice to use a GUI
Layer manager: contains table of contents (called map layers) and all tools for adding, editing or otherwise manipulating data
Map display: displays active data layers and provides viewing options (zoom level, adding map elements, etc.)

First, we need to import the Merged_DEM file we created in Quantum. In the Layer Manager window under the File menu, choose Import Raster Data » Common import formats

Click the Browse button and navigate to the Merged_DEM file. Make sure to select "All Files" in the drop-down menu (Figure _)
Import the file. GRASS will automatically save the file in its own format in the GRASS DATA folder
To view the new layer, toggle it on in the Layer Manager
Repeat the process to import the reference data (Import vector data, see Figure _)


Figure 15: Adding a raster file to GRASS	Figure 16a: GRASS display of Merged_DEM	Figure 16b: Merged_DEM with reference data

Note - You may want to change the colours so that it more closely resembles the DEM as displayed in Quantum.

Right-click the layer in the table of contents and select Set Colour Table. In the Colours tab, select byr from the drop-down menu (blue-yellow-red)


Figure 17a: Recoloured GRASS DEM	Figure 17b: Quantum DEM