Model Input File (MIF)

ARC can be configured using a file called the Model Input File (MIF). The MIF contains all the necessary information for ARC to run, including paths to input datasets, output locations, and various parameters that control how ARC processes the data. The MIF is a simple tab-separated text OR YAML file with key-value pairs, where each key corresponds to a specific input or parameter that ARC uses. The following shows an example MIF in YAML format:

#ARC_Inputs
DEM_File: /path/to/DEM.tif
Stream_File: /path/to/Stream_Raster.tif
LU_Raster_SameRes: /path/to/Land_Cover.tif
LU_Manning_n: /path/to/Mannings_n.txt
Flow_File: /path/to/Flow_File.csv
Flow_File_ID: COMID
Flow_File_BF: p_exceed_50
Flow_File_QMax: rp100_premium
Spatial_Units: deg
X_Section_Dist: 5000
Degree_Manip: 6.1
Degree_Interval: 1.5
Low_Spot_Range: 2
Str_Limit_Val: None
Gen_Dir_Dist: 10
Gen_Slope_Dist: 10
Stream_Slope_Method: local_average_corrected

#VDT_Output_File_and_CurveFile
VDT_Database_NumIterations: 30
Print_VDT_Database: /path/to/Output_VDT_Database.csv
Reach_Average_Curve_File: False

#Bathymetry_Information
Bathy_Trap_H: 0.2
Bathy_Use_Banks: False
FindBanksBasedOnLandCover: True
AROutBATHY: /path/to/Output_ARC_Bathy.tif
BATHY_Out_File: /path/to/Output_Bathy.tif

Argument Descriptions

Input Files

Key	Default Value	Data Type	Description
DEM_File	---	str	Path to the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) raster file. All subsequent raster files are assumed to have the same resolution, extent, and projection.
Flow_File	---	str	Path to the flow file containing streamflow data.
Flow_File_ID	---	str	Column name in the flow file that contains unique identifiers for each reach.
Flow_File_BF	---	str	Column name in the flow file that contains baseflow values.
Flow_File_QMax	---	str	Column name in the flow file that contains maximum discharge values to simulate.
LU_Manning_n	---	str	Path to the text file containing Manning's n values for different land cover types.
LU_Raster_SameRes	---	str	Path to the land cover raster file.
Stream_File	---	str	Path to the stream raster file.
StrmShp_File	---	str	Path to the stream shapefile. Required if Stream_Slope_Method is set to 'end_points' or 'reach_average'.

Parameters

Key	Default Value	Data Type	Description
Degree_Manip	1.1	float	The maximum angle, in degrees, that the cross-section may be rotated in either direction from perpendicular to the stream direction to find the orientation which yields the smallest water surface top-width.
Degree_Interval	1.0	float	The interval, in degrees, at which the cross-section is rotated to find the orientation which yields the smallest water surface top-width.
Gen_Dir_Dist	10	int	The number of DEM cells to look around (left, right, up, down) any given stream cell to use in calculating the direction of the stream.
Gen_Slope_Dist	0	int	The number of DEM cells to look around (left, right, up, down) any given stream cell to use in calculating the slope of the stream.
Low_Spot_Range	0	int	The number of DEM cells to look left and right of the stream centerline to find the lowest spot. If a spot with an elevation lower than the cell identified as the stream centerline by the stream raster is found, the cross-section is re-centered around that spot.
Reach_Average_Curve_File	---	bool	Flag indicating whether to average the values of the curve file across reaches.
Stream_Slope_Method	local_average_corrected	str	The method to use for calculating stream slope. Options include 'local_average_corrected', 'local_average', 'local_average_corrected', 'reach_average', and 'end_points'. See Stream Slope Methods for more details.
VDT_Database_NumIterations	15	int	The number of iterations to run when creating the VDT database.
X_Section_Dist	5000	float	Width of the cross-section for each stream cell in meters.

Output Files

See Outputs documentation for details on the output datasets that ARC can generate.

Key	Default Value	Data Type	Description
AROutBATHY	---	str	Path to the output bathymetry raster file.
BATHY_Out_File	---	str	The same as AROutBATHY, which takes precedence.
Print_AP_Database	---	str	Path to the output Area/Perimeter (AP) database file.
Print_Curve_File	---	str	Path to the output curve file.
Print_VDT_Database	---	str	Path to the output VDT database file.
XS_Out_File	---	str	Path to the output cross-section export file.

Bathymetry Information

Key	Default Value	Data Type	Description
Bathy_Trap_H	0.2	float	A value from the range 0-1, representing how much of a trapezoidal bathymetry is sloping on one side. For example, a value of 0.2 indicates that, given a stream bathymetry with a width of 100 meters, the bathymetry is sloping on one side by 20 meters, for a total of 40 meters of sloping.
Bathy_Use_Banks	False	bool	When false, ARC assumes that the DEM is representative of the water surface (typically not in a flood stage, and often much less than bankfull), and that the baseflow value is less than bankfull. It will try to find the banks based on the DEM or land cover information, and cut out just that area between the banks to fit the given baseflow. When true, ARC assumes that the baseflow value is a channel-forming discharge (bankfull flow), and is free to recreate the bathymetry in the channel. See Bathymetry for more details.
FindBanksBasedOnLandCover	False	bool	If true, ARC will first attempt to find the banks based on the land cover, by identifying the cells that are classified as water. Requires LC_Water_Value to be defined. See Bathymetry for more details.
LC_Water_Value	80	int	The value in the land cover raster that corresponds to water. Required if FindBanksBasedOnLandCover is true. Defaults to 80, which is the value for water in the ESA Land Cover dataset.