WaTEM/SEDEM
WaTEM/SEDEM is a soil erosion and sediment delivery model used for catchment-scale simulations. The model incorporates a Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) module to simulate gross erosion, extended with a spatially-explicit sediment routing module to simulate sediment transport based on a cellular transport capacity. The model therefore provides the user with predictions of gross and net soil erosion at the catchment scale.
WaTEM/SEDEM has been applied for numerous applications considering both the on-site and off-site impacts of soil erosion. These applications include the predicted soil loss from fields, off-site deposition, predictions of catchment sediment yield. The model has also been extended for the simulation of transported heavy metals, nutrients and organic carbon. The default application of the model can be extended in several ways to simulate the impact of soil erosion mitigation measures in a spatially-explicit way. For example, additional options within the model allow for the consideration of other anthropogenic factors such as roads, sewage systems, water and sediment buffer basins, dams and ditches.
This documentation page explains how WaTEM/SEDEM works and how the model can be used. The official code for WaTEM/SEDEM can be found at https://github.com/watem-sedem/watem-sedem.
For who is this documentation?
This page aims to explain how the WaTEM/SEDEM can be run for a given case study, and which output can be analysed to study the specific case. In addition, it aims to explain how a specific run for a case study can be set-up (i.e. which input data are needed? in which format?). Finally, this page is the reference for background information on model concepts, options, inputs and outputs.
In order to run WaTEM/SEDEM, a set of minimal skills is required:
Basic command line skills (know how to open your command line, and run an executable).
Opening text files in a text editor.
Opening raster data in QGIS, ArcGIS, Idrisi or an equivalent GIS program.
Note
The defined skills above allow you to run WaTEM/SEDEM with the input files listed in the package (for an example, see here). For generating your own input data for the model, for a self-defined case study, a good knowledge of GIS is required.
Download / Clone
The commandline interface of all releases can be found on
the release page. The source code
can be cloned or downloaded via the main page. Note that you need to clone
the directory via HTTPS or SSH to access the testfiles of the molenbeek
(subdirectory testfiles). The testfiles are not downloaded correctly when
the code is downloaded as a ZIP because they are stored via Git Large File Storage.