EPSCoR

EPS1135483

A Vectorial Model to Compute Terrain

Parameters and Solar Radiation
on TIN Domains.
Hernan A. Moreno
Fred Ogden
Robert C. Steinke
Nels Frazier
Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering
University of Wyoming
3rd Conference on Hydroinformatics-2015

Outline
Motivation
Application Basin
TIN Properties
Solar Vector Computation
Radiation on Inclined Surfaces
Local and Remote Shading
Next Steps

Motivation

TINs provide economy and

versatility.
Tessellations improve
representation of topography.
Fewer data points allow storage
and processing economy.
Faster processing times than
DEMs which scale well with
parallel runs.
Model large basins or small
basins with very fine resolution.

Motivation

Preserving high resolution at process-active areas is

critical for accurate modeling.

-Elevation
- Slope
- Aspect
- Solar radiation
- Evaporation
- Transpiration

- Runoff & surface flow

- Erosion & transport
- Infiltration
- Subsurface flow
- Channel formation
- Energy balance

- Surface-subsurface water
interactions
- Variable saturated areas
- Solar energy potential
- Snow accumulation and melt
- Contaminant fate and transport
- Soil moisture

Insolation modeling
INSOLATION=SWdir + SWremote + SWdiffuse
Measurement

Pro

Con

Interpolation of point
measurements

Highly accurate source

to interpolate.

Expensive. Poorly performance

in complex topography.

Meteorologic
geostationary
satellites

Large areal coverage at Low spatio-temporal

relatively low cost.
resolution.
Only work under clear sky
conditions.

Spatially-based solar
radiation models

Cost-efficient way with

high spatio-temporal
resolution

So far they have only been

tested in DEMs with timeexpensive routines.

We propose an efficient and novel methodology for rapid

calculation of topographic parameters (slope and aspect) and to
better estimate INSOLATION on TIN elements for hydrologic
applications.

Study Basin

Basin Area: 1220 km2

THANKS

Green River, Wyoming

TIN properties
TIN

DEM=158,325 cells
TIN=36,436 elements

DEM

Normal Unit Vector

n = nx i + n y j + nz k; nz > 0
ny
nx
n
nu = i +
j+ z
n
n
n

n=(P3-P1)x(P2-P1)

nu = nux i + nuy j + nuz k

S

Slope of plane from normal vector

nz

S = arccos(nuz )

P2

Equation of the plane

Slope of plane from eq. plane

z z
S' = +
x y
2

nx

n x X + n yY + n z Z + d = 0
z
P1

y
x

P3

nux

Mean

Median

-0.012

-0.0005

St. Dev.
0.042

Skewness
-0.003

nuy

Mean

Median

St. Dev.

Skewness

-0.0024

-0.0037

0.0454

0.00026

nuz

Mean

Median

St. Dev.

Skewness

0.9504

0.9879

0.9125

0.8811

Slope S

S = arccos (nuz )

Slope S'

z z
S' = +
x y
2

S'- S

S' Vs S

S
S'

Slope

1st Quartile Mean

Median

3rd Quartile Std. Dev.

Skewness

4.146

13.2406

8.9125

18.386

340.861

12757

S'

4.153

14.5406

8.9851

19.044

463.487

22877

Slope Aspect

A=

nx
ny
arctan

|nx| 2
nx

Solar Vector
Topocentric Spheric System
At noon sun is at:

S o = (S ox , S oy , S oz )
S o = (0, sin ( ), cos( ))

= Triangle latitude
90 90

= Solar declination
23.45 23.45

System Rotation
As Earth rotates, So needs to be
multiplied by three rotational
matrices. Thus solar vector will be
S = rx ( )rz (w )rx ( )S o
rx ( ) = 1

sin

cos

cos
sin

rz (w) = cos

sin
0

sin
cos
0

0
1

= hour angle
S = sincos

sin
cos
cos

cos
sin

cos
cos
sin
sin
cosw

Cosine law
Direct Radiation
(w/m2)
nu
s

Lambert's cosine law

determines the energy flux
to each TIN element:

cos s = nu .S
When cos s <0 the element selfshades and when Sz < 0 sun is
below the horizon, so no light is
available.

cos s = (nux , nuy , nuz ) sincos

sin

cos

cos

cos

sin

coscoscos + sinsin

Incoming Solar Radiation

Spring or fall Equinox

Incoming Solar Radiation

Winter Solstice

Incoming Solar Radiation

Summer Solstice

Remote Sheltering
In process of application. Groups of mesh
elements are organized along the sun light
path and their projections tested for
remote shading.
z
SP

Shaded
elements

T1

T2

T3

T4 T5 T6

TIN centroids

T7

d=

h(2 R + h )

Next Steps
Include a diffuse radiation model based on sky-view
factors.
Add a remote reflected radiation for short wave or
high albedo areas.
Include a module for canopy light reduction and
below-canopy long wave radiation.
Include an energy balance model.
Couple a snow and evapotranspiration module.
Couple modules to ADHydro infiltration and routing
schemes.

THANKS

Green River, Wyoming