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SAGA v. 2.1.4 - Conrad Et Al., 2015 gmd-8-1991-2015 PDF
SAGA v. 2.1.4 - Conrad Et Al., 2015 gmd-8-1991-2015 PDF
, 8, 19912007, 2015
www.geosci-model-dev.net/8/1991/2015/
doi:10.5194/gmd-8-1991-2015
Author(s) 2015. CC Attribution 3.0 License.
Received: 12 December 2014 Published in Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss.: 27 February 2015
Revised: 05 June 2015 Accepted: 08 June 2015 Published: 07 July 2015
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Figure 1. Total downloads by country (20042014; source: Source- 200
Forge.net, 2014). 119
100
0
2005 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2013 2014
ties, terrain controlled process dynamics as well as climate (1.2) (2.0.0) (2.0.3) (2.0.4) (2.0.5) (2.0.7) (2.0.8) (2.1.0) (2.1.1) (2.1.4)
parameters at high spatial resolution. The development and
implementation of apparently new methods for spatial anal- Figure 2. Number of tools between 2005 (v1.2) and 2014 (v2.1.4).
ysis and modeling resulted in the design of three applica-
tions for digital terrain analysis, namely SARA (System zur 9000
Other (41)
Visualization (17) Grid Filter 28 Front Ends
Simulation (17) Grid Calculus 21
Database (31)
Polygons 19
Grid-Shapes Tools
17
14
Tool Libraries
(35) Point Clouds 13
Other 41
Library A Library B Library C Library D
Spatial and Terrain Analysis
Geostatistics (48) (91) Morphometry 31
Other
28
32
Application Programming Interface
Export (70)
CSG_Data_Object
generically supported by SAGA, for projecting geographic
coordinate grids to be displayed in a map view, and to ac-
cess and manipulate data through a database management
system. Furthermore, this possibility of executing any loaded
CSG_Grid CSG_Table
tool is used for the processing of tool chains. Tool chains
are comparable to the models created with ArcGIS Model-
Builder (ESRI, 2015) or QGIS Processing Modeler (QGIS
CSG_Shapes CSG_TIN
Development Team, 2014), but unlike these, SAGA does not
yet include a graphical tool chain designer. Tool chains are
CSG_PointCloud defined in a simple XML-based code that is interpreted by
the tool chain class, another variant of the general tool class.
This code has two major sections. The first part comprises
Figure 6. Data object hierarchy. the definition of the tool interface, e.g., the tools name, de-
scription and a list of input, output and optional parameters.
The second is a listing of the tools in the desired execution
providing topological information concerning point neigh- order. Tool chains are an efficient way to create new tools
borhoods. Each data type supports a generic built-in file for- based on existing ones and perform exactly like hard coded
mat. Raster data use a SAGA-specific binary format with tools. Since it is possible to create a tool chain directly from
an accompanying header. Table data use either tabbed text, a data set history, a complex workflow can be developed in-
comma separated values, or the DBase format. The latter is teractively and then be automated for the analysis of further
also applied for storing vector data attributes with the ESRI data sets.
shapefile format. In order to enhance read and write perfor-
mance, point clouds also employ a SAGA-specific binary file 2.2 General purpose tools
format. Besides, each stored data file is accompanied by a
metadata file providing additional information such as map Besides more specific geoscientific methods, SAGA provides
projection and original data source. Additionally, the meta- a wide range of general purpose tools. Since SAGA has a lim-
data contain a data set history, which assembles information ited generic support for data file formats, the group of data
about all tools and settings that have been involved to create import and export tools is an important feature to read and
the data set. write data from various sources and store them to specific
SAGA tools are implemented in dynamically loadable li- file formats supported by other software. Within this group,
braries (DLLs) or shared objects, thus supporting the concept a toolset interfacing the Geospatial Data Abstraction Library
of modular plug-ins. Each SAGA tool is derived from a tool (GDAL) should be highlighted (http://www.gdal.org) (Bi-
base class, which is specified in the API and defines the stan- vand, 2014). The GDAL itself provides drivers for more than
dard interface and functionality. In this class, the tool-specific 200 different raster and vector formats, and therefore the
input and output data of various data types as well as tool op- SAGA APIs data manager automatically loads unknown file
tions are declared in a parameter list. At least two functions formats through the GDAL by default.
of the base class have to be implemented by each tool. The A powerful alternative to file-based data storage is pro-
constructor defines the tools interface with its name, a de- vided by database management systems (DBMS), which of-
scription of its usage and methodology, and the list of tool- fer the possibility of querying user defined subset selections.
specific parameters. Its parameter list is automatically eval- Various DBMS can be addressed with a toolset based on the
uated by the systems framework prior to the execution of a Oracle, ODBC and DB2-CLI Template Library (OTL, http:
tool. The execution itself is started by a call to the second //otl.sourceforge.net). A second toolset allows accessing of
compulsory function, which implements the tools function- PostgreSQL databases (http://www.postgresql.org) and sup-
ality. ports direct read and write access for vector and raster data,
Specialized variants of the tool base class are available as provided by the PostGIS extension for spatial and geo-
for enhanced processing of single raster systems or for in- graphic objects (http://postgis.net).
teraction of the tool with the GUI (i.e., to respond to mouse Tools related to georeferencing and coordinate systems
events occurring in a map). The API uses a callback system are indispensable for the work with spatial data. Particularly
to support communication with the front end, e.g., giving a the coordinate transformation tools make use of two alter-
message of progress, error notification, or to force immedi- native projection libraries, the Geographic Translator GEO-
ate update of a data sets graphical representation. The tool TRANS (http://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/geotrans), and the
manager loads the DLLs and makes them accessible for the Cartographic Projections Library PROJ.4 (http://trac.osgeo.
front ends. The tool manager also facilitates the call of ex- org/proj/).
isting tools, e.g., to run a tool out of another one. The GUI Due to SAGAs original focus on raster data analysis, nu-
uses this feature, e.g., to read data file formats that are not merous tools are available for addressing this field, compris-
ing tools for map algebra, resampling, and mosaicking. Nev- Manager Map View Histogram Attributes
ertheless, the tool sets related to vector data also cover com-
mon operations such as overlays, buffers, spatial joins, and
selections based on attributes or location. Overlay operations
like intersection, difference, and union utilize the functions
provided by the Clipper polygon clipping and offsetting li-
brary (http://sourceforge.net/projects/polyclipping). Besides,
various methods for rastervector and vectorraster conver-
sions are available, including contour line derivation and in-
terpolation of scattered point data.
Table 1. Software utilizing SAGA. In order to make these data sets applicable for geomorphic
and hydrologic analyses, SAGA offers tools to reduce ele-
Software Interface Remarks vation of forest canopies in radar-based DEMs (SRTM) and
QGIS CLI Processing modeler
to identify and eliminate man-made terrain features in laser-
gvSIG CLI SEXTANTE scanning-based data sets (Kthe and Bock, 2009). Wichmann
OpenJUMP CLI SEXTANTE et al. (2008) created digital terrain models (DTM) from air-
R CLI RSAGA borne LiDAR data in different grid-cell sizes and investi-
ZOO API Web processing service gated the effect on the simulation results of a debris flow
MicroCity API LUA extension model. DTM preparation included several processing steps
Laserdata LiS API Proprietary software such as morphological filtering and surface depression fill-
ing. The implementation of the debris flow model used in
this study was described in Wichmann and Becht (2005) and
3 Review of SAGA-related studies and applications Wichmann (2006). Peters-Walker et al. (2012) used SAGA
and the Laserdata information system, a software extend-
Due to its plethora of tools, covering a broad spectrum of ing SAGAs point cloud data management and analysis ca-
geoscientific analysis and modeling applications and its user pabilities (Petrini-Montferri et al., 2009; Rieg et al., 2014)
friendly environment, SAGA has been increasingly utilized to derive a high-resolution DTM from LiDAR data. SAGA
for the processing of geodata, the implementation and cal- was subsequently applied to prepare all relevant catchment
ibration of statistical and process-based models in various and channel network information to finally model discharge
fields, and the visualization of results. The following chap- and bedload transport with the SimAlp/HQsim hydrologic
ter provides an overview of studies using SAGA in selected model. In order to investigate climate and glacier changes
geoscientific fields, which were identified as major applica- from DEM and imagery data, Bolch (2006) and Bolch and
tions of the software. However, due to the vast number of Kamp (2006) proposed methods on glacier mapping from
studies, this chapter only gives an outline without any claim SRTM, ASTER and LANDSAT data. SAGA was used for
to comprehensiveness. An overview is given in Table 2. DEM pre-processing, including import, projection and merg-
ing of data, as well as gap filling, curvature calculation and
3.1 Digital terrain analysis and geomorphology cluster analysis. Sediment transport in a proglacial river was
investigated by Morche et al. (2012). The authors measured
SAGA is a successor of three applications that were designed suspended sediment load and bed load along the river and
for digital terrain analysis, namely SARA, SADO, and Di- quantified surface changes of sediment sources by compar-
GeM, and up to today, the analysis of DEMs has remained ison of multi-temporal terrestrial and airborne laser scan-
a major focus. SAGA provides a comprehensive set of tools ning data. LiDAR data, both airborne and terrestrial, were
ranging from the preprocessing of DEMs (e.g., filtering and investigated by Haas et al. (2012) to quantify and analyze a
filling procedures) through the generation of simple first- and rockfall event in the western Dolomites. Volume, axial ra-
second-order terrain derivatives, such as slope and curvature, tio and run-out length of single boulders were derived from
to more sophisticated and process-oriented terrain parame- the point clouds and statistically analyzed. Furthermore, the
ters, e.g., the altitude above the channel network, the relative surface roughness in the run-out zone of the rockfall was es-
slope position or the SAGA wetness index. The strong fo- timated based on point cloud data. The authors also proposed
cus of SAGA in this particular field is distinctly reflected by approaches on how to use the derived surface roughness with
its frequent utilization. This section gives a brief overview a rockfall simulation model and compared the simulation re-
of available methods, applications, and studies with a spe- sults for different rock radii and both airborne and terrestrial
cial focus on the preprocessing of raw data, the derivation laser scanning derived surface roughness data sets.
of terrain-based predictor variables for statistical modeling
approaches, the classification of distinct geomorphographic
3.1.2 Using terrain analysis for the derivation of
units and the implementation of suitable tools for specific
predictor variables
investigations. For further information on principles and ap-
plications in terrain analysis, including some of the methods
that are implemented in SAGA, we refer to Wilson and Gal- Assuming that topographic characteristics are important
lant (2000). Olaya and Conrad (2009) provided an introduc- drivers of various regional- and local-scale geodynamic pro-
tion to geomorphometry in SAGA. cesses, derivational terrain parameters are frequently utilized
as predictor variables in statistical modeling applications.
3.1.1 Preprocessing of raster data The close cooperation of the SAGA developer team with
varying research projects resulted in the implementation of
Filtering of bare ground from radar interferometry or laser distinct terrain parameters, particularly suitable for specific
scanning data sets is a pre-requisite for many applications. investigations.
Targeting the derivation of a spatial map of landslide risk, authors used SAGA to calculate morphometric features like
Varga et al. (2006) used a certainty-factor analysis including local slope, upslope contributing area, catchment slope, and
data sets of slope, curvature, land use, geology and primary catchment height. Also, the all-year potential incoming solar
dipping. Mantovani et al. (2010) proposed a new approach radiation was computed. These terrain attributes were then
for landslide geomorphological mapping, using SAGA for used in combination with texture attributes for classification.
tasks like DTM interpolation, slope and aspect calculations
and the delineation of watersheds and stream network. Heck- 3.1.4 Implementation of specific tools
mann et al. (2005) and Heckmann (2006) investigated the
sediment transport by avalanches in alpine catchments. Be- The open source and modular architecture of SAGA eas-
sides quantitative field measurements, SAGA was utilized to ily enables the integration of new tools, if requested al-
implement a spatial model of geomorphic avalanche activ- ready available tools can be integrated. Thus, several work-
ity. Potential initiation sites were delineated with a certainty- ing groups utilize SAGA as a framework for specific analyses
factor model (Heckmann and Becht, 2006). Process path- and modeling applications.
ways were modeled by a random walk model, while run-out Grabs et al. (2010) proposed a new algorithm to com-
distance was calculated with a two-parameter friction model. pute side-separated contributions along stream networks for
The simulation results (flow height, flow velocity and slope) the differentiation of the riparian zone and adjacent upland
and field measurements were finally used in a discriminant lateral contributions on each side of a stream. They imple-
analysis to establish an empirical relationship. As an example mented a new method SIDE (stream index division equa-
of statistical geocomputing combining R and SAGA in the tions) in SAGA, which determines the orientation of flow
RSAGA package, Brenning (2008) presented a landslide sus- lines relative to the stream flow direction and allows distin-
ceptibility analysis with generalized additive models. It was guishing between stream left and right sides. Haas (2008) and
shown that several local as well as catchment-related mor- Haas et al. (2011) used a rule-based statistical model for the
phometric attributes are important, mostly nonlinear, predic- estimation of fluvial sediment transport rates from hillslopes
tors of landslide occurrence. In a later study (Muenchow et and small hillslope channels. They introduced the concept
al., 2012), RSAGA was employed to estimate geomorphic of a sediment contributing area, derived by terrain analy-
process rates of landslides along a humidity gradient in the sis, and implemented the algorithm in SAGA. The index was
tropical Andes. finally used in a regression model to derive sediment trans-
port rates. The same model was applied in a later study con-
3.1.3 Terrain classification cerning the impact of forest fires on geomorphic processes
(Sass et al., 2012). Studying alpine sediment cascades, Wich-
The usage of terrain (or landform) units allows the provision mann and Becht (2005) and Wichmann (2006) implemented
of soil scientists with conceptual spatial entities that are use- a rockfall model in SAGA. The model can be used to delin-
ful for mapping. The border lines of landform units highlight eate the process area of rockfalls and for geomorphic process
changing landform conditions that are frequently used to ex- and natural hazard zonation by combining a random walk
plain changing soil conditions. The classification concept of path finding algorithm with several friction models. Wich-
geomorphographic maps (Kthe et al., 1996) utilized DTM mann and Becht (2006) reviewed several rockfall models,
derivatives generated with SAGA. Locally adjusted thresh- implemented in SAGA. Three different methods for run-out
olds of terrain parameters such as the SAGA wetness index, distance calculation, an empirical model and two process-
altitude above channel network, slope, relative slope posi- based models were compared in greater detail regarding their
tion and terrain classification index for lowlands (Bock et applicability for natural hazard zonation and the analysis of
al., 2007b) divide a DTM into main classes along a gradient geomorphic activity. Fey et al. (2011) applied an empirical
from the relative bottom (bottom areas mostly corresponding rockfall model (including the modeling of process pathway
to valley floors) to the relative top (summit areas correspond- and run-out distance) for the back calculations of medium-
ing to crests, peaks and ridges) of the terrain, with slopes scale rockfalls. Heckmann et al. (2012) integrated a modifi-
and terraces as intermediate classes. This semi-automated cation of the rockfall model by Wichmann (2006) in order
terrain-based landscape structure classification is also useful to re-calculate a rockfall event. Wichmann and Becht (2004)
for the analysis of physical and ecological settings. Wehberg described the development of a model for torrent bed type
et al. (2013) derived geomorphographic units (GMUs) as dis- debris flow, including the delineation of debris flow initia-
crete terrain entities on the basis of a SRTM digital eleva- tion sites, process pathways, as well as erosion and depo-
tion model with SAGA-based terrain analysis. It was found sition zones. Potential process initiation sites were derived
that the GMUs reproduced the physiogeographic settings of from channel slope, upslope contributing area, and the sed-
the Okavango catchment appropriately and provided a ba- iment contributing area. Pathway and run-out distance were
sis for further mappings of vegetation or soil data. Bren- modeled by combining a grid-based random walk model with
ning et al. (2012) investigated the detection of rock glacier a two-parameter friction model. Zones of erosion and depo-
flow structures by Gabor filters and IKONOS imagery. The sition were derived by threshold functions of channel gra-
dient and modeled velocity. The model was validated with of soil quality values (Ackerzahl), while Kidd and Viscarra
field measurements after a high magnitude rainstorm event. Rossel (2011) tested numerous derivatives from DEM and
Recently, in an analytical study of the susceptibility of ge- remote sensing data as covariates for the geostatistical mod-
ological discontinuities to gravitational mass movements, eling of soil properties. Furthermore, SAGA-based predic-
Jansen (2014) applied geological engineering methods im- tor variables can be used to directly model the distribution
plemented in SAGA. The existing methodology (Gnther, of classified data of soil types or soil associations by (ex-
2003; Gnther et al., 2004) was thereby enhanced by inter- ternal) machine learning algorithms such as Random Forest
polation routines available in SAGA, which resulted in an (Roecker et al., 2010) or Classification Tree (Willer et al.,
increase in the plausibility of the results. 2009). Besides, SAGA offers internal classification routines,
such as the statistical cluster analysis, which was applied to
3.2 Digital soil mapping combine DEM covariates to serve as a conceptual soil map
(Bock et al., 2007a).
Digital soil mapping is one of the major applications in Extensive work has been done to model the spatial dis-
SAGA, which still reflects the initial focus of the software tribution of soil threats. In addition to the mentioned study
on developing terrain analysis methods for soil science. Due on heavy metal distribution in European soils (Lado et al.,
to its tool diversity, SAGA became a standard software pack- 2008), several studies estimated soil degradation caused by
age in the field, which is underlined by citations in relevant erosion using SAGA routines. Besides the attempt to record
reviews and textbooks (Behrens and Scholten, 2006; Boet- existing soil degradation from erosion with the help of co-
tinger, 2010; Hartemink et al., 2008; Hengl and Reuter, 2009; variates (Milevski, 2008; Milevski et al., 2007), a particular
Lal and Stewart, 2014). focus is the evaluation of soil erosion risk using the SAGA
According to McBratney et al. (2003), digital soil mapping revised slope length factor (Bhner and Selige, 2006) based
generally is understood as a collection of methods for the on the empirical universal soil loss equation (Wischmeier and
estimation of spatial information on soils. These estimates Smith, 1978). Patriche et al. (2012) and Enea et al. (2012) are
can comprise specific soil properties (continuous data), entire further examples of studies dealing with this issue. Recently,
soil types or soil associations (classified data), or the suscep- SAGA was extended by a process-based soil erosion model
tibility of soil against certain soil threats. Based on existing (Setiawan, 2012). The WEELS model allows wind erosion
point measurements and/or spatial data from other origin, so- modeling based on SAGA routines (Bhner et al., 2002). The
called predictor variables (sometimes referred to as covari- vulnerability towards landslides was modeled using a com-
ates), digital soil mapping techniques can be applied in order bination of SAGA and the statistical package R (Brenning,
to generate extensive soil information. The most important 2008; Goetz et al., 2011).
SAGA-specific predictor in the field of digital soil mapping The SAGA Landscape Evolution Model (SALEM) is
is the SAGA wetness index (Bhner et al., 2002), which is rather between the disciplines of geomorphology and soil sci-
derived from a DTM and reflects the theoretical distribution ences. The SALEM (Bock et al., 2012) was designed for sim-
of lateral water accumulation. ulating processes that comprise the critical zone (National
Several studies determine a correlation between one or Research Council, 2001) and depicts the landscape elements
more soil properties and spatial predictor variables. Russ and in a process-oriented and time-dynamical way.
Riek (2011) derived groundwater depths from SAGA covari-
ates with the help of pedo-transfer functions. Other authors 3.3 Climatology and meteorology
used statistical methods to model soil parameters, e.g., to ap-
ply a multiple regression model for the derivation of ground- Historically, climatology and meteorology are probably the
water depths (Bock and Kthe, 2008). A more sophisticated natural science disciplines where most of the epistemologi-
regression model was developed by Khn et al. (2009), who cal progress was based on the spatially explicit analysis of
explained the spatial distribution of several soil parameters, local observations. Indeed, the ingenious inventions of cli-
such as soil organic carbon or carbonate content, by means of mate measuring instruments since the late sixteenth century
interpolated apparent electrical conductivity data and DEM by Galileo Galilei, Evangelista Torricelli, Otto von Guericke,
covariates. and others would have rarely contributed to this enormous
A number of studies refer to SAGA implemented geo- scientific progress since the late eighteenth century, if in-
statistical methods in order to derive soil parameters. Bh- strumental observations had not been taken from different
ner and Kthe (2003) combined geostatistical regionalization locations, enabling a synoptic analysis of spatial climate
(Kriging) of grain size fractions with pedo-transfer functions variations. Today, core functionalities of contemporary GIS,
to develop a whole set of physical soil properties. Schaup- e.g., a range of basic spatial analysis routines, are well suited
penlehner (2008) and Lado et al. (2008) used regression for this systematic examination of climate variations over
Kriging to estimate the distribution of heavy metals in sur- space, typically applied to infer spatially continuous (grid-
face soils at European scale. Schauppenlehner (2008) com- ded) climate layers from point source observations. Espe-
pared different geostatistical methods for spatial estimation cially for this purpose of climate spatialization, SAGA is
equipped with numerous tools, ranging from interpolation olution, dynamical representation of climate processes and
methods (local, global and regression-based regionalization) values remain a domain of high-performance computing-
to complex surface parameterization techniques, supporting based climate modeling, rarely covered by GIS. To over-
both, statistical and numerical climate modeling. come this disadvantage, Bhner (2006, 2005, 2004) intro-
Interpolation methods: although SAGA provides an al- duced a SAGA-based climate spatialization approach, which
most complete collection of local and global interpola- basically merges statistical downscaling and surface param-
tion techniques, comprising deterministic (inverse distance eterization techniques. Assuming the spatiotemporal vari-
weighted, local polynomial, radial basis functions), and in ability of a climatic variable to be predominantly controlled
particular geostatistical Kriging methods and its derivatives by both, tropospheric and terrain-forced processes, different
(e.g., ordinary, universal, regression Kriging), interpolation DEM parameters and monthly resolution tropospheric fields
techniques have rarely been used as a standalone method from NCAR-NCEP or ERA interim reanalyses had been con-
in climate spatialization (Fader et al., 2012). Instead, these sidered as statistical predictors, supporting a monthly res-
methods were frequently combined with more complex sta- olution estimation of climate variables for Germany (Bh-
tistical or numerical climate modeling approaches, using, ner, 2004), the Okavango catchment (Weinzierl et al., 2013)
e.g., ordinary Kriging, thin-plate spline or inverse distance and different modeling domains in Central and High Asia
weighted for the interpolation of model residues, in order to (Bhner, 2006; Gerlitz et al., 2015; Klinge et al., 2015).
obtain a correction layer for the adjustment of modeling re- In order to allow a dynamical representation of numeri-
sults (Bhner, 2006, 2005, 2004; Gerlitz et al., 2014; Kessler cal climate simulations via SAGA, most recently, an effi-
et al., 2007; Soria-Auza et al., 2010; Weinzierl et al., 2013). cient climate model interface has been realized, which en-
Regression-based regionalization: in topographically ables one to import and process even complex and vast cli-
structured terrain and especially in high mountain environ- mate model outputs. Resulting options for climate spatializa-
ments, where the often low density and non-representative tion and its advancements in terms of applicability, precision
distribution of met stations lead to unsatisfying interpolation and temporal resolution, using daily and sub-daily resolution
results, statistical methods utilizing explanatory fields ERA Interim reanalysis as dynamic forcings for statistical
(e.g., DEM elevation and its first- and second-order partial downscaling are presented in Bhner et al. (2013) and Ger-
derivatives) as statistical predictors are distinctly preferred litz (2014). Daily resolution values of climate variables for
in climate spatialization. In order to achieve a proper Baden-Wrttemberg on a 50 m 50 m grid were derived by
estimation of the deterministic, topographically determined a SAGA-based downscaling approach, refining regional cli-
component of climate variations, SAGA provides a set of mate model (RCM) simulations of present-day climates and
DEM parameters, explicitly constructed to represent oro- IPCC A1B and A2 climate scenarios, supporting the quan-
graphically induced topoclimatic effects. A comprehensive tification of climate change effects on the forest site index
explanation and justification of DEM-based measures for for major tree species (Nothdurft et al., 2012).
the parameterization of prominent topoclimatic phenomena, Climate layers performed with SAGA, however, are sel-
such as the anisotropic heating and formation of warm zones dom stand-alone results, but are mostly considered as basic
at slopes, cold air flow and cold air potentials, orographic predictor variables or driving forcings for further environ-
effects on rainfall variations and wind velocities, and terrain mental analysis and modeling. Applications range from pa-
determined alterations of shortwave and longwave radiation leoclimate reconstructions (Aichner et al., 2010; Bhner and
fluxes, is given in Bhner and Antonic (2009). Soria-Auza et Lehmkuhl, 2005; Herzschuh et al., 2011, 2010; Wang et al.,
al. (2010) conducted a systematic evaluation of SAGA-based 2014) over environmental resource assessment and regional-
climate spatialization results in comparison with Worldclim ization (Bhner and Kickner, 2006; Bhner and Langkamp,
data (Hijmans et al., 2005), highlighting the advantages 2010; Kessler et al., 2007; Klinge et al., 2003; Lehmkuhl et
of SAGA-based surface parameterization methods and al., 2003; Miehe et al., 2014; Soria-Auza, 2010) to climate
its added values for ecological modeling applications. impact assessment and soil erosion modeling (Bhner, 2004;
Further spatialization results from mountainous modeling Bhner et al., 2003; Bhner and Kthe, 2003; Conrad et al.,
domains in Asia, Europe and South America are presented 2006).
in Bolch (2006), Dietrich and Bhner (2008), Kessler et
al. (2007), Lehrling (2006) and Sttter and Sailer (2012). 3.4 Remote sensing and image processing
Numerical and statistical modeling: fostered by advanced
computational capacities on the one hand, and increas- SAGA offers a large number of scientific methods and tools
ingly freely available topographic data sets on the other, for multispectral, hyperspectral and thermal remote sensing,
regression-based techniques evolved to a common standard including geometrical preprocessing and spectral filtering
in climate spatialization since the 1990s. The results, though techniques, multispectral and Fourier transformations, super-
often with high spatial resolution, however, are most com- vised and unsupervised classification algorithms, change de-
monly static representations of mean (monthly, seasonal or tection, as well as segmentation methods for object-oriented
annual) climate values, whilst to date, the temporal high res- image analysis (Blaschke, 2010). The filtering techniques in-
clude standard linear bandpass filters (Gaussian, Laplacian, tel and Daneke, 2012). Additionally, SAGA was utilized to
user defined) and nonlinear filters (majority, rank, and the develop downscaling schemes for land surface temperature
morphological filter dilation, erosion, opening, closing, mor- from geostationary satellites to spatial resolutions of up to
phological gradient, top hat, and black hat). Besides differ- 100 m (Bechtel et al., 2012c; Bechtel et al., 2013) and to es-
ent vegetation indices, tasseled cap transformation, sharpen- timate in situ air temperatures (Bechtel et al., 2014).
ing techniques for multi-sensor data and principal compo- The image processing capacities also rouse interest in
nent analysis for feature reduction are implemented. Avail- other disciplines. Asmussen et al. (2015) developed a work-
able classifiers comprise k-means (unsupervised), binary en- flow for petrographic thin section images, which comprises
coding, parallelepiped, minimum and Mahalanobis distance, the delineation of rock forming minerals and data acquisition
maximum likelihood, spectral angle mapper, decision trees, of various fabric parameters. The method is based on SAGAs
random forest, support vector machines, artificial neural net- seeded simple region growing algorithm to obtain flexible
works, as well as ensemble-based classifiers, while region and precise object detection for any occurring mineral type in
growing and watershed algorithms are available for image weathered sub-arkose sandstone material, and benefits from
segmentation. Besides, some tools are available for the pro- a reproducible and transparent GIS database.
cessing of data from specific sensors, like calibration to re-
flectance and generation of cloud masks for Landsat data. 3.5 Miscellaneous
Furthermore, SAGA offers great possibilities to process Li-
DAR point data (cf. Sect. 3.4). The code of the remote sens- Besides its core applications, such as terrain analysis, ge-
ing and image processing tools is partly based on free li- omorphometry, soil mapping and climate spatialization,
braries and open source software including OpenCV (Open SAGA has been used in numerous studies of very differ-
Source Computer Vision, http://opencv.org/), ViGrA (Vision ent fields and wide scope. One physical geographic sub-
with Generic Algorithms, Kthe, 2000), LIBSVM (Chang discipline, which should be outlined separately due to a se-
and Lin, 2011) and GRASS GIS (Geographical Resources ries of recent publications, is biogeography and particularly
Analysis Support System) (Neteler et al., 2012). plant geography. Marini et al. (2007), e.g., studied the influ-
A number of remote-sensing-based studies using SAGA ence of local environmental factors on plant species richness
have been published in different fields. In forestry, multi- in the Alps. Different terrain attributes like elevation or slope
spectral remote sensing data from different times and sen- were tested in statistical models besides other climatic or nu-
sors and fragmentation models were used to examine defor- trient parameters, in order to explain biodiversity patterns on
estation and fragmentation of peat swamp forest covers in different Alpine meadows. A similar approach was carried
Malaysia (Kamlisa et al., 2012; Phua et al., 2008). Bechtel et out by Marini et al. (2009) with the focus on the impact of
al. (2008) applied different segmentation algorithms to iden- farm size and terrain attributes on insect and plant diversity of
tify individual tree crowns in very high resolution imagery. managed grasslands in the Alps. Another example of a bio-
Furthermore, a new vegetation map of the central Namib geographic relevant application can be found in Vanselow
was produced by a supervised classification of remote sens- and Samimi (2011), who preprocessed a DEM by means of
ing data from MODIS and ETM+ 7 in combination with the fill sinks method and afterwards derived terrain attributes,
other environmental parameters such as climatic and topo- e.g., altitude above channel network and slope, in order to
graphic data by Jrgens (2013). In glaciology, SAGA remote designate potential future pastures in Tajikistan. Other en-
sensing tools were used for the integration of different ter- vironmental studies comprise Heinrich and Conrad (2008),
rain data sets into a combined topographical and multispec- who applied a cellular automation approach to testing the
tral classification of rock glaciers (Brenning, 2009) to an- simulation of flow and diffusion dynamics in shallow water
alyze the decrease in glacier cover in Kazakhstan (Bolch, bodies, and Czegka and Junge (2008), who used SAGA as a
2007, 2006) and to detect flow structures in IKONOS im- mobile field tool in environmental geochemistry research ac-
agery (Brenning et al., 2012). Recently, several remote sens- tivities (GPS coupled navigation on lakes, in situ observation
ing studies successfully applied SAGA to generate surface monitoring). Liersch and Volk (2008) implemented a metric
parameters for local-scale climatic mapping and analysis in conceptual rainfallrunoff model including calibration tools
urban areas. In Bechtel et al. (2011), digital height models within the SAGA framework with the intention of flood risk
from interferometric synthetic aperture radar data were es- prediction.
tablished to derive roughness parameters and anemometric Besides geoscience, GIS products are increasingly utilized
characteristics of urban surfaces while the thermal proper- in various fields dealing with spatially explicit data. For ex-
ties were investigated regarding the annual cycles of surface ample, in archaeology, Bernardini et al. (2013) investigated
temperatures (Bechtel, 2015, 2012, 2011a). Furthermore, the airborne LiDAR derived images, in order to detect and to
urban surface parameters were implemented for urban cli- monitor hitherto unknown anthropogenic structures and ar-
matic modeling applications (Bechtel et al., 2012b; Bechtel chaeological sites in the Trieste Karst landscape. Leopold et
and Schmidt, 2011) and the classification of local climate al. (2011) likewise produced a DEM, based on LiDAR in-
zones (Bechtel, 2011b; Bechtel et al., 2015, 2012a; Bech- formation, and subsequently derived a high-resolution cross
section with the objective of revealing the location of a for- to broaden the application of SAGA. A further challeng-
mer production site of bronze statues at the southern slope ing field of the coming SAGA development will be the en-
of the Acropolis of Athens. The approach was compared hancement of tools and methods, supporting a scale-crossing
to other methods of demarcating prehistoric surface struc- amalgamation of climate and environmental modeling appli-
tures (e.g., magnetometry, electrical resistivity tomography, cations. Already today, SAGA enables an assimilation, dy-
ground-penetration radar) and proved to be suitable as an ad- namical representation and statistical downscaling of climate
ditional archaeological reconstruction tool. Kaye (2013) uti- model outputs, required to interlink dynamical climate forc-
lized SAGA-based terrain analysis, in particular the catch- ings with process models for case studies and climate im-
ment water balance methodology and the implemented hy- pact analyses. By bridging both, spatial scales and scientific
drological tools. By means of the GIS-based approach, the disciplines, SAGA responds to the steadily increasing needs
author reconstructed historical water availability in southern for high-quality, spatially explicit data and information, ul-
England as an important logistic factor for the Roman Army timately tracing GIS to its roots. Indeed, already in 1965,
and contributed to finding the location of Boudicas last bat- Michael F. Ducey and Duane F. Marble stated in probably
tle in AD 60 or 61. the first written document to use the term Geographic Infor-
Finally, two very specific examples for the utilization of mation System that the primary function of a Geographic
SAGA should be highlighted, which particularly indicate the Information System is to make spatially oriented information
wide scope of the software. Different spatial detection tech- available in a usable form. Happy 50th birthday GIS!
niques of radioactive matter being randomly dispersed on
a free area were tested for the purpose of quantifying dose Code availability
rates, surface activities, mass concentrations in aerosols and
their temporal and spatial distributions (Prouza et al., 2010). The SAGA source code repository is hosted at http://
Most peculiarly, the morphometric investigation of chewing sourceforge.net/projects/saga-gis/ using an Apache Subver-
surfaces of animals should be emphasized, which was based sion (SVN) server as a versioning and revision control sys-
on an automated analysis using specific interpolation and tem. Read only access is possible without login. A branch
segmentation approaches (Czech, 2010). is provided for SAGA version 2.1.4, which is referred to in
this paper (release-2-1-4, revision 2335). Alternatively, the
source code for this version can be downloaded directly from
4 Conclusions and outlook the files section at http://sourceforge.net/projects/saga-gis/.
Since the first public release in 2004, SAGA has very rapidly
developed from rather specialized niche software for digi- The Supplement related to this article is available online
tal terrain analyses to a mature stage FOSS GIS platform, at doi:10.5194/gmd-8-1991-2015-supplement.
offering the entire spectrum of geodata analysis, mapping
and modeling applications of contemporary GIS software.
Right from the beginning, the multiple options of an object-
oriented programming environment and the consequently
modular organized architecture fostered the development of Acknowledgements. The authors would like to thank all SAGA
specific methods often distinctly beyond off-the-shelf GIS developers for their contributions to the code and the documenta-
products. In the present version 2.1.4, SAGA offers more tion and numerous users for their valuable remarks. Furthermore,
than 600 tools, many of them reflecting a leading paradigm in we thank I. Friedrich for editorial support with the manuscript.
the SAGA development: advancements in GIS development Finally, we thank M. F. Ducey and D. F. Marble for using the
are only to be achieved if the development is closely embed- term Geographic Information System in their Technical Note
Some Comments on Technical Aspects of Geographic Information
ded in research processes. Indeed, in responding to scientific
Systems from 1965.
questions and needs, SAGA is not only a research support-
ing tool but also likewise its outcome, which complements Edited by: S. Easterbrook
related scientific publications with the ultimate documenta-
tion of used methodologies in the form of source codes.
Today SAGA is maintained and enhanced at the Institute
of Geography, Physical Geography Section, at Hamburg Uni-
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