Modelling tool capability overview
A set of commonly used modelling tools in South Africa was reviewed for the WRC “Critical catchment model inter-comparison and model use guidance development” project. This set included major tools developed in South Africa: ACRU and the Pitman model-based tools, WRSM-Pitman and SPATSIM-Pitman. It also included two tools that were developed in the northern hemisphere, but have been used in South Africa and globally: SWAT and MIKE-SHE. Locally developed tools can have certain advantages from being designed with the South African context in mind, both in terms of local data availability and in terms of local climate characteristics, ecosystems, soils, geologic types, and land and water management practices (e.g. landscapes with many small farm dams). SWAT and MIKE-SHE have resourced development teams behind them that continually update the tools and adapt them to make use of developing globally available data sources, such as remotely sensed data, and generally improved access to greater computing power. This suite of tools covers a diversity of model structure and algorithm type options, but users should be aware there are many many tools available (see more examples)
The tables below summarise basic information about the tools in this set:
- tool background & versions covered here
- intended uses of the tool & development focuses
- broad model structural characteristics across tools
- overview of modelling capabilities across tools
These tables provide an overview. More detailed information about the structural options and capabilities of the tools is given across the other inter-comparison pages.
| Characteristic | WRSM-Pitman | SPATSIM-Pitman | ACRU | SWAT | MIKE-SHE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|