RAT Configuration File

RAT Configuration settings are defined by a 'yaml'/'yml' file. rat init command provides a rat_config.yaml file which is partially auto-filled for user's convenience and rat_config_template.yaml file which is just a template for the required rat configuration settings. User can use the latter to manually fill configuration file if they choose/feel not to use the auto-partially-filled configuration file.

Note

rat_config.yaml and rat_config_template.yaml files are present inside params directory at ./rat_project/params/.

RAT runs over one single river-basin at a time. But RAT 3.0 has the flexibility to run over multiple river-basins using a single configuration file and thus avoids the need to have one configuration file for each river-basin.

Tip

Though time taken by RAT to operate over all the basins will be same if you use rat run command individually for each basin's configuration file or if you use that command for the single configuration file representing multiple basins, It will be convenient to have one single configuration file rather than multiple configuration files.

RAT config file has 12 major sections that defines several parameters which are needed to run rat. Each section parameters are indented to right by 4 spaces as compared to section heading. Parameters of each section are described below.

Note

For RAT Configuration File section, Default value is the auto-filled value of a parameter inserted by rat init command in the rat_config or rat_config_template files.

Global

steps :
Required parameter

Description : List of steps that you want RAT to run using rat run command. There are total 14 steps that RAT can run, details of which can be found here.

Default : [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14]

Syntax : If you want to run RAT's step 1 and 2 only, then
```
GLOBAL:
    steps: [1,2]
```
or
```
GLOBAL:
    steps: 
        -1
        -2
```
cleaning :
Optional parameter

Description : Boolean flag indicating whether to do cleaning during RAT run. If True, it cleans the data specified by the CLEAN UP section in the configuration file.

Default : False

Syntax : If you want to delete data produced by RAT and want to use CLEAN UP section, then
```
GLOBAL:
    cleaning: True
```
Note

If you want to use CLEAN UP section, cleaning must be True.
project_dir :
Required parameter

Description : Absolute path of RAT project directory.

Default : Specified by -d or --dir option of rat init command.

Syntax : If RAT project directory has the name 'rat_project' and has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project', then
```
GLOBAL:
    project_dir: /Cheetah/rat_project/
```
data_dir :
Required parameter

Description : Absolute path of RAT output data directory. It can be an empty directory which will be used by RAT to store log files, intermediate and final outputs.

Default : A directory named 'data' inside project_dir

Syntax : If RAT data directory has the name 'data' and has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/data', then
```
GLOBAL:
    data_dir: /Cheetah/rat_project/data
```
Tip

data_dir does not necessarily have to be inside project_dir even though it is recommended to do so. In case you don't have enough memory in project_dir, this tip can be handy.
basin_shpfile :
Required parameter

Description : Absolute path of the shapefile containing the polygons of the basin on which you want to run RAT. The shapefile must have a primary key column (unique id) for each basin in the shapefile. Currently 'json' and shapefile ('shp') are the supported formats.

Default : If -g or --global_data option has been provided with rat init command, then the default path is 'project_dir/global_data/global_basin_data/shapefiles/mrb_basins.json', otherwise left blank.

Syntax : If basin shapefile has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/global_data/global_basin_data /shapefiles/mrb_basins.json', then
```
GLOBAL:
    basin_shpfile: /Cheetah/rat_project/global_data/global_basin_data/shapefiles/mrb_basins.json
```
Note

Default shapefile is downloaded along with global-database and is provided by Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC). It has all the major river basins of the world.
basin_shpfile_column_dict :
Required parameter

Description : Dictionary of column names for basin_shpfile. The dictionary must have a key 'id' and it's value should be the primary key (unique-id) column name.

Default : If -g or --global_data option has been provided with rat init command, then the default value is {'id':'MRBID'} for the default basin_shpfile.Otherwise, left blank to be filled by the user.

Syntax : If basin_shpfile has a column named 'Basin-ID' where each basin has a unique id, then
```
GLOBAL:
    basin_shpfile_column_dict: {'id':'Basin-ID'}
```
or
```
GLOBAL:
    basin_shpfile_column_dict: 
        id: Basin-ID
```
elevation_tif_file :
Optional parameter

Description : Absolute path of a raster file having the global elevation data in 'geotif' format. Elevation should be in meters and the crs should be 'WGS84'.

Default : If -g or --global_data option has been provided with rat init command, path is 'project_dir/global_data/global_elevation_data/World_e-Atlas-UCSD_SRTM30-plus_v8.tif', otherwise left blank.

Syntax : If elevation raster file has a path '/Cheetah/rat_project/global_data/global_elevation_data/elevation.tif', then
```
GLOBAL:
    elevation_tif_file: /Cheetah/rat_project/global_data/global_elevation_data/elevation.tif
```
Note
1. If this parameter is not provided, then metsim_domain_file must be provided in METSIM section of the config file.
2. Default elevation raster 'geotif' file is downloaded along with global-database and uses SRTM-30_Plus version-8 data product which is provided by University of California San Diego (UCSD). This dataset is a 30-arc second resolution global topography/bathymetry grid developed from a wide variety of data sources.
multiple_basin_run :
Required parameter

Description : True if you want to run RAT for multiple basins using rat run command according to the parameters basins_metadata and basins_to_process. False otherwise. For more information, please look multiple basin run.

Default : False

Syntax : If you want to run RAT for just one basin, then
```
GLOBAL:
    multiple_basin_run: False
```
basins_metadata :
Required parameter

Description : Absolute path of the basins metadata file in csv format. It is a csv file that is multi-indexed and have same index as this configuration file. For more information, please look multiple basin run.

Default : It is blank by default and can be filled by the user.

Syntax : If basins_metadata file has a path '/Cheetah/rat_project/params/ basins_metadata_sample.csv', then
```
GLOBAL:
    basins_metadata: /Cheetah/rat_project/params/basins_metadata_sample.csv
```

Basin

region_name :
Required parameter

Description : Name of the region in which the basin is located. It is used only to store RAT outputs in a directory named region_name. Multiple basins can have a same region_name.

Default : It is blank by default and should be filled by the user.

Syntax : If you want to run RAT for, say 'Sabine' basin, then the region_name can be 'Texas' as the basin lies in Texas state or 'North_America'.
```
BASIN:
    region_name: Texas
```
basin_name :
Required parameter

Description : Name of the basin. It is used only to store RAT outputs in a directory named basin_name inside a directory named region_name. Each basins should have a unique basin_name.

Default : It is blank by default and should be filled by the user.

Syntax : If you want to run RAT for, say 'Sabine' basin, then the basin_name can be 'Sabine'.
```
BASIN:
    basin_name: Sabine
```
Caution

Do not use blank spaces in region_name and basin_name. Instead, use underscore (_).
basin_id :
Required parameter

Description : Unique ID of the basin. It is value of the column 'id' defined in basin_shpfile_column_dict in Global section. It is used to map the basin in the basin_shpfile over which you want to run RAT for.

Default : It is blank by default and should be filled by the user.

Syntax : If you want to run RAT for, say 'Sabine' basin, and the 'unique-id' column has a value of, say 2341, then
```
BASIN:
    basin_id: 2341
```
spin_up :
Required parameter

Description : True, if you want RAT to run VIC with a spin up period, recommended if you are running RAT first time for a particular basin and you don't have VIC State File for start date. Otherwise, False.

Default : True

Syntax : Suppose, if you have run RAT for the period 2022-03-01 to 2022-08-01 and want to run RAT for second time for a period 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31, then
```
BASIN:
    spin_up: False
```
start :
Required parameter

Description : Start date of the time period for which you want to run RAT in the format yyyy-mm-dd.

Default : It is blank by default and should be filled by the user.

Syntax : Suppose, if you want to run RAT for a period 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31, then
```
BASIN:
    start: 2022-08-01
```
end :
Required parameter

Description : End date of the time period for which you want to run RAT in the format yyyy-mm-dd.

Default : It is blank by default and should be filled by the user.

Syntax : Suppose, if you want to run RAT for a period 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31, then
```
BASIN:
    end: 2022-08-31
```
Note
1. Starting from v3.0.14, the end date can now be set to a date on or before the current day.
2. For RAT runs that overlap with the period from three days prior to the current day up to the current day, meteorological data is sourced as nowcasts—precipitation data from the GEFS server and temperature and wind data from the GFS server.
vic_init_state_date :
Optional parameter

Description : It is the date (in format yyyy-mm-dd) for which you have the initial state VIC pARAMETERS available so that spin_up is not required. VIC use these soil state parameters to initialize.

Default : It is blank by default and can be filled by the user.

Syntax : Suppose, if you have run RAT for the period 2022-03-01 to 2022-08-01 and want to run RAT for second time for a period 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31, then
```
BASIN:
    vic_init_state_date: 2022-08-01
```
Note
1. If spin_up is True, the value of vic_init_state_date is ignored.
2. Every time you run RAT successfully, it by default saves a VIC state file for the end date.
3. Generally, the value of vic_init_state_date should be same (or as close as possible) to the vic_init_state_date. Since VIC initializes with the soil parameters of that date, it is best practice to start running RAT from the same date.
Caution

If spin_up is False and vic_init_state_date is blank or not provided, the RAT results will not have any significance for the initial 24-28 months of the simulated time period as they were produced using VIC computed inflow without considering any spin up.

Metsim

metsim_env :
Required parameter

Description : Absolute path of the directory in which virtual metsim python environment has been installed.

Default : 'project_dir/models/metsim'

Syntax : If metsim python environment has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/models/metsim', then
```
METSIM:
    metsim_env: /Cheetah/rat_project/models/metsim
```
Reminder

MetSim gets automatically installed at the above mentioned default path, once you use rat_init command.
metsim_param_file :
Required parameter

Description : Absolute path of the parameter file required by MetSim in 'yaml' format. Details about the parameter file is available here. It can also be the path to sample metsim parameter file as RAT automatically updates it during rat run command. For further information, see the tip below.

Default : 'project_dir/params/metsim/params.yaml'

Syntax : If metsim parameter file has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/params/metsim/params.yaml', then
```
METSIM:
    metsim_param_file: /Cheetah/rat_project/params/metsim/params.yaml
```
Tip
1. RAT 3.0 automatically downloads a sample of metsim_param_file once you use rat init command.
2. You do not need to manually update metsim_param_file as RAT automatically updates it with the known parameters (which usually includes input and output paths, data formats, start and end dates, etc.). If there is any constant parameter that you want to update (not necessary), you can do it in the default sample copy.
metsim_domain_file :
Optional parameter

Description : Absolute path of the domain parameter file required by MetSim in NetCDF format. Details about the domain parameter file is available here.

Default : It is blank by default and can be filled by the user.

Syntax : If metsim domain parameter file has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/metsim_domain.nc', then
```
METSIM:
    metsim_domain_file: /Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/metsim_domain.nc
```
Note

metsim_domain_file is only required if elevation_tif_file in Global section is not provided, otherwise it is ignored. RAT 3.0 automatically prepares a metsim domain file using an elevation raster and basin polygon.
historical_precipitation :
Optional parameter

Description : Absolute path of the historical precipitation data (>= 3years) that extends atleast over the polygon of basin_name in NetCDF format. If provided, it will be used by RAT for climatology based correction of satellite precipitation

Default : It is blank by default and can be filled by the user.

Syntax : If historical precipitation file has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/ historical_precipitation.nc', then
```
METSIM:
    historical_precipitation: /Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/historical_precipitation.nc
```

VIC

vic_env :
Required parameter

Description : Absolute path of the directory in which virtual vic python environment has been installed.

Default : 'project_dir/models/vic'

Syntax : If vic python environment has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/models/vic', then
```
VIC:
    vic_env: /Cheetah/rat_project/models/vic
```
Reminder

VIC gets automatically installed at the above mentioned default path, once you use rat_init command.
vic_param_file :
Optional parameter

Description : Absolute path of the vic's global parameter file required by vic in 'txt' format. Details about the parameter file is available here. It is used as a sample vic global parameter file as RAT automatically updates it during rat run command. For further information, see the tip below.

Default : 'project_dir/params/vic/vic_params.txt'

Syntax : If vic parameter file has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/params/vic/vic_params.txt', then
```
VIC:
    vic_param_file: /Cheetah/rat_project/params/vic/vic_params.txt
```
Note

vic_param_file is optional and can be left blank if all the required parameters are defined in VIC PARAMETERS section.
Tip
1. RAT 3.0 automatically downloads a sample of vic_param_file once you use rat init command.
2. You do not need to manually update vic_param_file as RAT automatically updates it with the known parameters (which usually includes input and output paths, data formats, start and end dates, etc.). If there is any parameter value that you want to define and don't want RAT to update it, you can do it in the VIC PARAMETERS section.
vic_global_data :
Required parameter

Description : True if vic "global" (relative to basin) soil and domain parameter information is available and needs to be cropped for the basin. False otherwise. If False, you should have vic soil and domain parameter files that can be used "as it is" by VIC. For more information about vic soil paramater file, click here and for vic domain parameter file, click here.

Default : True

Syntax : If you have vic soil and domain parameter files for the whole continent or the country in which the basin lies, then
```
VIC:
    vic_global_data: True
```
Note
1. Default "global" vic soil parameter and domain files for each continent is downloaded along with global-database and was prepared by Jacob et al.(2021).
2. If vic_global_data is True, vic_global_param_dir,vic_basin_continent_param_filename and vic_basin_continent_domain_filename are the required parameters. vic_soil_param_file and vic_domain_file are ignored.
3. If vic_global_data is False, vic_soil_param_file and vic_domain_file are required and vic_global_param_dir,vic_basin_continent_param_filename and vic_basin_continent_domain_filename are ignored.
vic_global_param_dir :
Optional parameter

Description : Absolute path of the directory contining the vic's global soil parameter and domain files required by vic.

Default : 'project_dir/global_data/global_vic_params'

Syntax : If you want to run VIC for a basin in North America and you have the vic soil parameter and domain files for the North America in the directory '/Cheetah/rat_project/global_data/global_vic_params', then
```
VIC:
    vic_global_param_dir: /Cheetah/rat_project/global_data/global_vic_params
```
vic_basin_continent_param_filename :
Optional parameter

Description : Name of the vic soil parameter file in 'NetCDF' format which must have parameter information of a larger extent as compared to the basin so that it can be cropped (i.e. global relative to basin).

Default : It is blank by default and can be filled by the user.

Syntax : If you want to run VIC for a basin in North America and you have the vic soil parameter file for the North America in vic_global_param_dir by the name 'namerica_params.nc', then
```
VIC:
    vic_basin_continent_param_filename: namerica_params.nc
```
vic_basin_continent_domain_filename :
Optional parameter

Description : Name of the vic domain parameter file in 'NetCDF' format which must have parameter information of a larger extent as compared to the basin so that it can be cropped (i.e. global relative to basin).

Default : It is blank by default and can be filled by the user.

Syntax : If you want to run VIC for a basin in North America and you have the vic domain parameter file for the North America in vic_global_param_dir by the name 'namerica_domain.nc', then
```
VIC:
    vic_basin_continent_domain_filename: namerica_domain.nc
```
vic_soil_param_file :
Optional parameter

Description : Absolute path of the vic soil parameter file in 'NetCDF' format which could be used "as it is" by VIC. vic_global_data must be False to use this parameter, otherwise ignored.

Default : It is blank by default and can be filled by the user.

Syntax : If you want to run VIC for a basin whose vic soil parameter file is at the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/basin_vic_soil_params.nc', then
```
VIC:
    vic_soil_param_file: /Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/basin_vic_soil_params.nc
```
vic_domain_file :
Optional parameter

Description : Absolute path of the vic soil parameter file in 'NetCDF' format which could be used "as it is" by VIC. vic_global_data must be False to use this parameter, otherwise ignored.

Default : It is blank by default and can be filled by the user.

Syntax : If you want to run VIC for a basin whose vic soil parameter file is at the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/basin_vic_domain.nc', then
```
VIC:
    vic_domain_file: /Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/basin_vic_domain.nc
```

VIC Parameters

This section is optional and describes the parameters defined by vic_param_file. As vic_param_file is used as a template and RAT 3.0 automatically updates all the parameter values, this section can be used by you to define any parameter's value that you don't want to get update automatically in vic_param_file. To know about the available parameters, click here.

For instance, if you want to update the number of moisture layers (NLAYER) used by the VIC model and want to define the name of forcing type for air temperature (AIR_TEMP) as 'temp' to be read from the forcing file:

VIC PARAMETERS:
    NLAYER: 2
    FORCE_TYPE:
        AIR_TEMP: temp

Tip

Parameter keywords are case sensitive and please refer this page for this section to have a look what case you should use for a particular parameter.

Routing

route_model :
Required parameter

Description : Absolute path of the routing model.

Default : 'project_dir/models/routing/rout'

Syntax : If routing model has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/models/routing/rout', then
```
ROUTING:
    route_model: /Cheetah/rat_project/models/routing/rout
```
Reminder

Routing model gets automatically installed and compiled at the above mentioned default path, once you use rat_init command.
route_param_file :
Optional parameter

Description : Absolute path of the routing parameter file required by routing in 'txt' format. Details about the parameter file is available here. It is used as a sample parameter file as RAT automatically updates it during rat run command. For further information, see the tip below.

Default : 'project_dir/params/routing/route_param.txt'

Syntax : If routing parameter file has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/params/routing/route_param.txt', then
```
ROUTING:
    route_param_file: /Cheetah/rat_project/params/routing/route_param.txt
```
Note

route_param_file is optional and can be left blank if all the required parameters are defined in ROUTING PARAMETERS section.
Tip
1. RAT 3.0 automatically downloads a sample of route_param_file once you use rat init command.
2. You do not need to manually update route_param_file as RAT automatically updates it with the known parameters (which usually includes input and output paths, data formats, start and end dates, etc.). If there is any parameter value that you want to define and don't want RAT to update it, you can do it in the ROUTING PARAMETERS section.
global_flow_dir_tif_file :
Required parameter

Description : Absolute path of the flow direction raster file in 'geotif' format. The provided raster file must have flow direction information of a larger or equal extent as compared to the basin in WGS84 projection and the resolution of this file must be 0.0625°. This file is used to create another file in a format required by Routing, details of which is available here.

Default : 'project_dir/global_data/global_drt_flow_file/global_drt_flow_16th.tif'

Syntax : If routing parameter file has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/global_data/global_drt_flow_file/global_drt_flow_16th.tif', then
```
ROUTING:
    global_flow_dir_tif_file: /Cheetah/rat_project/global_data/global_drt_flow_file/global_drt_flow_16th.tif
```
Note
1. RAT 3.0 requires the resolution of the flow direction file as 1/16^th or 0.0625°.
2. Default flow direction raster 'tif' file with the required resolution of 0.0625° in WGS84 projection is downloaded along with global-database and is provided by NTSG Group at University of Montana.
3. Numbers that represnt flow directions in the default flow direction file is as follows:
  1 = east
  2 = southeast
  4 = south
  8 = southwest
  16 = west
  32 = northwest
  64 = north
  128 = northeast
  255 = no flow
replace_flow_directions :
Optional parameter

Description : Dictionary of key value pairs where key represents the flow direction in global_flow_dir_tif_file and that flow direction number will then be replaced by the value of that key.

Default : { 1 : 3, 4 : 5, 2 : 4, 8 : 6, 16 : 7, 32 : 8, 64 : 1,128 : 2, 255 : 0 }

Syntax : If you want to replace flow directions 2 and 4 by 4 and 5 respectively in global_flow_dir_tif_file, then
```
ROUTING:
    replace_flow_directions: { 4 : 5,    # first replace 4 by 5
                               2 : 4,    # and then replace 2 by 4.
                                }
```
or
```
ROUTING:
    replace_flow_directions:  
        4 : 5    # first replace 4 by 5
        2 : 4    # and then replace 2 by 4.
```
Note

Flow direction numbers as required by Routing in each grid cell is as follows:
0 = no flow
1 = north
2 = northeast
3 = east
4 = southeast
5 = south
6 = southwest
7 = west
8 = northwest

Tip

Replacing of directions takes place sequentially in the order provided. So if you want to replace 2 by 4 and 4 by 5 then first replace 4 by 5 and then replace 2 by 4. If you do the other way round, then there will be no directions with value 4.
station_global_data :
Required parameter

Description : True if reservoir information is available in a vector file. It can be "global" (relative to basin) and will be automatically filtered for the basin.False if you don't have reservoir information in a vector file. For more information about routing station file, click here.

Default : True

Syntax : If you have reservoir information in a shapefile, then
```
ROUTING:
    station_global_data: True
```
Note
1. Default "global" reservoirs and dam data is downloaded along with global-database in the form of shapefiles and uses the Global Reservoir and Dam (GRanD) database version 1.3
2. If station_global_data is True, stations_vector_file and stations_vector_file_columns_dict are the required parameters and station_latlon_path is ignored.
3. If station_global_data is False, station_latlon_path is required whereas stations_vector_file and stations_vector_file_columns_dict are ignored.
stations_vector_file :
Optional parameter

Description : Absolute path of the dam/station vector file where the geometry is represented by point location of dams and there must be unique id, name, longitude and latitude columns. It can be "global" (relative to basin) and will be automatically filtered for the basin. It is used to create routing station file. For more information about routing station file, click here.

Default : 'project_dir/global_data/global_dam_data/GRanD_dams_v1_3_filtered.shp'

Syntax : If reservoir station file has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/global_data/global_dam_data/GRanD_dams_v1_3_filtered.shp', then
```
ROUTING:
    stations_vector_file : Cheetah/rat_project/global_data/global_dam_data/GRanD_dams_v1_3_filtered.shp
```
Tip

To use this parameter, make sure station_global_data is True.
stations_vector_file_columns_dict: :
Optional parameter

Description : Dictionary of column names for stations_vector_file. The dictionary must have keys 'id_column', 'name_column', 'lon_column' and 'lat_column' and their values should be the actual name of the corresponding columns respectively. The 'id_column' value should be unique for all stations in the vector file.

Default : {id_column: GRAND_ID, name_column: DAM_NAME, lon_column: LONG_DD, lat_column: LAT_DD}

Syntax : If stations_vector_file has column names 'GRAND_ID', 'DAM_NAME', 'LONG_DD' and 'LAT_DD', then
```
ROUTING:
    stations_vector_file_columns_dict: {id_column: GRAND_ID, name_column: DAM_NAME, lon_column: LONG_DD, lat_column: LAT_DD}
```
or
```
ROUTING:
    stations_vector_file_columns_dict: 
        id_column: GRAND_ID
        name_column: DAM_NAME
        lon_column: LONG_DD
        lat_column: LAT_DD
```
Tip
1. To use this parameter, make sure station_global_data is True.
2. The default value is only useful if you are using the GRanD dam shapefile provided with global database of RAT 3.0.
station_latlon_path: :
Optional parameter

Description : Absolute path of station file in csv format with columns 'run', 'name', 'lon' and 'lat'. The 'run' column values should be 1 for stations for which routing should be executed otherwise 0.

Default : It is blank by default and can be filled by the user.

Syntax : If station csv file has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/station_lat_lon.csv', then
```
ROUTING:
    station_latlon_path: /Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/station_lat_lon.csv
```
Tip

To use this parameter, make sure station_global_data is False.

Routing Parameters

This section of the configuration file describes the parameters defined by route_param_file. As route_param_file is used as a template and RAT 3.0 automatically updates all the parameter values, this section can be used by you to define any parameter's value that you don't want to get update automatically in route_param_file. To know about the available parameters, click here.

Note

By default, RAT 3.0 uses a standard unit hydrograph file which is downloaded when RAT is initialized using rat init command. To know more about the unit hydrograph file, click here.

Tip

To improve accuracy of inflow values for a river basin, VIC and routing models can be calibrated. To know more, click here.

GEE

reservoir_vector_file :
Required parameter

Description : Absolute path of the reservoir vector file where the geometry is represented by reservoir polygons. It can be "global" (relative to basin) and will be automatically filtered for the basin. It can have unique id column, dam name column and surface area columns.

Default : 'project_dir/global_data/global_reservoir_data/GRanD_reservoirs_v1_3.shp'

Syntax : If reservoir station file has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/global_data/global_reservoir_data/GRanD_reservoirs_v1_3.shp', then
```
GEE:
    reservoir_vector_file : Cheetah/rat_project/global_data/global_reservoir_data/GRanD_reservoirs_v1_3.shp
```
reservoir_vector_file_columns_dict :
Required parameter

Description : Dictionary of column names for reservoir_vector_file. The dictionary must have keys 'id_column', 'dam_name_column' and 'area_column' and their values should be the actual name of the corresponding columns respectively. 'area' column should have value of average surface area of reservoirs in square Kilometers.

Default : {id_column : 'GRAND_ID', dam_name_column : 'DAM_NAME', area_column : 'AREA_SKM'}

Syntax : If reservoir_vector_file has column names 'GRAND_ID', 'DAM_NAME' and 'AREA_SKM', then
```
ROUTING:
    reservoir_vector_file_columns_dict: {id_column : 'GRAND_ID', dam_name_column : 'DAM_NAME', area_column : 'AREA_SKM'}
```
or
```
ROUTING:
    reservoir_vector_file_columns_dict: 
        id_column: GRAND_ID
        dam_name_column: DAM_NAME
        area_column: AREA_SKM
```
Note
1. If station_global_data is True, the values of 'id_column' and 'dam_name_column' in reservoir_vector_file should match with that of 'id_column' and 'name_column' in stations_vector_file.
2. If station_global_data is False, the values of 'dam_name_column' in reservoir_vector_file should match with that of 'name' column in station_latlon_path. 'id_column' is not required in this case and will be ignored if provided.
bot_filter :
Optional parameter

Description : The BOT (Bias Outlier Trend) Filter can be used to have granular control over the filtering applied to surface area (SA) time series. It corrects the Optical satellite based surface area results using SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) data and a set of three filters. To use the filter, set 'apply' to 'true' and set the three thresholds.
Bias_threshold: The intensity of filtering out optical SA values that has a bias from SAR value. Outlier_threshold: The intensity of filtering out outlier values in the Optical SA time series
Trend_threshold: The intensity of filtering out optical SA values whose trend differs from SAR trend
Threshold ranges: (Off: 0 - 9: MAX) Eg. Relatively Aggressive filtering set: [8,8,8]

Default : {apply: false, bias_threshold: 9, outlier_threshold: 8, trend_threshold: 9}

Syntax : If filtering for surface area is required to be run, then
```
GEE:
    bot_filter: {apply: true, bias_threshold: 0-9, outlier_threshold: 0-9, trend_threshold: 0-9}
```
Note

Setting bot_filter apply to false in a subsequent run after it was made true will result in Surface Area reverting to TMSOS based values.

Post Processing

aec_dir :
Optional parameter

Description : Absolute path of the directory containing area elevation curve (AEC) files in csv format for all reservoirs. If for any reservoir AEC file is missing, it will be automatically created using digital elevation model inside this directory.

Default : It is blank by default and can be filled by the user.

Syntax : If aec_dir has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/aec/', then
```
POST_PROCESSING:
    aec_dir : /Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/aec/
```
Note
1. If station_global_data is True, AEC file names should be <'id_column' value><'dam_name_column' value where spaces are replaced by ''>. For example, the file name for a reservoir with 'dam_name' as 'Tehri Dam' and 'id' as 115 will be '115_Tehri_Dam.csv'.
2. If station_global_data is False, AEC file names should be <'dam_name_column' value where spaces are replaced by '_'>. For example, the file name for a reservoir with 'dam_name' as 'Tehri Dam' will be 'Tehri_Dam.csv'.
3. Each AEC file should have two columns with headers as 'Elevation' and 'CumArea'. 'Elevation' should be in meters and 'CumArea' should be in square Kilometers.
catchment_vector_file :
Optional parameter

Description : Absolute path of the catchment vector file where the geometry is represented by reservoirs' catchment polygons. It can be "global" (relative to basin) and will be automatically filtered for the basin. It can have unique id column and dam name column.

Default : It is blank by default and can be filled by the user.

Syntax : If catchment_vector_file has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/catchments.geojson/', then
```
POST_PROCESSING:
    catchment_vector_file : /Cheetah/rat_project/custom_files/catchments.geojson
```
catchment_vector_file_columns_dict :
Optional parameter

Description : Dictionary of column names for catchment_vector_file. The dictionary must have keys 'id_column' and 'dam_name_column' and their values should be the actual name of the corresponding columns respectively.

Default : {id_column : 'GRAND_ID', dam_name_column : 'DAM_NAME'}

Syntax : If catchment_vector_file has column names 'GRAND_ID' and 'DAM_NAME', then
```
POST_PROCESSIN:
    catchment_vector_file_columns_dict: {id_column : 'GRAND_ID', dam_name_column : 'DAM_NAME'}
```
or
```
POST_PROCESSIN:
    catchment_vector_file_columns_dict: 
        id_column: GRAND_ID
        dam_name_column: DAM_NAME
```

Clean Up

Note

To use this section, cleaning should be set to True in Global Section of the configuration file. This section is Optional if cleaning is False or not provided in Global section.

clean_processing :
Optional parameter

Description : True if you want to delete intermediate pre-processed and post-processed data for a river basin except global raw data downloaded from servers after the RAT run. Otherwise, False.

Default : False

Syntax : If you want to delete intermediate pre-processed and post-processed data for a river basin,
```
CLEAN_UP:
    clean_processing: True
```
clean_metsim :
Optional parameter

Description : True if you want to delete intermediate metsim inputs and outputs for a river basin after the RAT run. Otherwise, False.

Default : False

Syntax : If you want to delete intermediate metsim inputs and outputs for a river basin,
```
CLEAN_UP:
    clean_metsim: True
```
clean_vic :
Optional parameter

Description : True if you want to delete intermediate vic inputs and outputs, and any vic initial soil state file that is older than 20 days, for a river basin after the RAT run. Otherwise, False.

Default : False

Syntax : If you want to delete intermediate vic inputs and outputs, and any vic initial soil state file that is older than 15 days for a river basin,
```
CLEAN_UP:
    clean_vic: True
```
clean_routing :
Optional parameter

Description : True if you want to delete intermediate routing inputs and outputs, and any routing initial state file that is older than 20 days, for a river basin after the RAT run. Otherwise, False.

Default : False

Syntax : If you want to delete intermediate routing inputs and outputs, and any routing initial state file that is older than 15 days for a river basin,
```
CLEAN_UP:
    clean_routing: True
```
clean_gee :
Optional parameter

Description : True if you want to delete gee produced small chunk files of surface area time series for a river basin after the RAT run. Otherwise, False.

Default : False

Syntax : If you want to delete gee produced small chunk files of surface area time series for a river basin,
```
CLEAN_UP:
    clean_gee: True
```
Note

If clean_gee is True, it will not delete the final gee outputs that will be appended with new data in next RAT run. To delete that, use clean_previous_outputs.
clean_altimetry :
Optional parameter

Description : True if you want to delete raw altimetry data that takes a lot of time to download for a river basin after the RAT run. Otherwise, False.

Default : False

Syntax : If you want to delete raw altimetry data for a river basin,
```
CLEAN_UP:
    clean_altimetry: True
```
Note

If clean_altimetry is True, it will not delete the extracted altimetry data that will be appended with new data in next RAT run. To delete that, use clean_previous_outputs.
clean_basin_parameter_files :
Optional parameter

Description : True if you want to delete parameter files related to the basin. Otherwise, False.

Default : False

Syntax : If you want to delete parameter files related to basin,
```
CLEAN_UP:
    clean_basin_parameter_files: True
```
clean_basin_meteorological_data :
Optional parameter

Description : True if you want to delete combined meteorological data of the basin which is required to hot-start RAT for next RAT run. Otherwise, False.

Default : False

Syntax : If you want to delete combined meteorological data of the basin,
```
CLEAN_UP:
    clean_basin_meteorological_data: True
```
Note

It should be noted that combined meteorological data is the data that helps in running VIC (hydrological model) without any spin-up for next run. Without this data, RAT needs to run the hydrological model for extra 2-3 years. You should use clean_basin_meteorological_data if you want to recreate combined meteorological data file for a river basin in the next RAT run.
clean_previous_outputs :
Optional parameter

Description : True if you want to delete previous outputs, gee extracted surface area time series and altimetry extracted height data produced by last RAT run. Otherwise, False.

Default : False

Syntax : If you want to delete raw altimetry data that takes a lot of time to download for a river basin,
```
CLEAN_UP:
    clean_previous_outputs: True
```
Note

If clean_previous_outputs is True, the previous outputs are cleaned before executing any step in steps.

Tip

You should use clean_previous_outputs if you want to have fresh outputs of RAT for a river basin. Otherwise, by default RAT will keep appending the new outputs to the same files and will concatenate data by calendar dates. In case the new outputs and previous outputs have some coinciding dates, RAT will replace the previous outputs with the new outputs for these dates.

Confidential

secrets: :
Reuired parameter

Description : Absolute path of secrets file in ini format with credentials for IMERG, AVISO and GEE as mentioned here.

Default : Specified by -s or --secrets option of rat init command.

Syntax : If secrets file has the path '/Cheetah/rat_project/secrets/secrets.ini', then
```
CONFIDENTIAL:
    secrets: /Cheetah/rat_project/secrets/secrets.ini
```
Note

It will be left blank if '-s' argument is not provided in rat init command.

Plugins

This section of the configuration file is optional and can be used to run different Plugins as mentioned here. It should be used to describe the parameters required by a plugin that you want to use.

RAT Configuration File

Global

steps :

cleaning :

project_dir :

data_dir :

basin_shpfile :

basin_shpfile_column_dict :

elevation_tif_file :

multiple_basin_run :

basins_metadata :

Basin

region_name :

basin_name :

basin_id :

spin_up :

start :

end :

vic_init_state_date :

Metsim

metsim_env :

metsim_param_file :

metsim_domain_file :

historical_precipitation :

VIC

vic_env :

vic_param_file :

vic_global_data :

vic_global_param_dir :

vic_basin_continent_param_filename :

vic_basin_continent_domain_filename :

vic_soil_param_file :

vic_domain_file :

VIC Parameters

Routing

route_model :

route_param_file :

global_flow_dir_tif_file :

replace_flow_directions :

station_global_data :

stations_vector_file :

stations_vector_file_columns_dict: :

station_latlon_path: :

Routing Parameters

GEE

reservoir_vector_file :

reservoir_vector_file_columns_dict :

bot_filter :

Post Processing

aec_dir :

catchment_vector_file :

catchment_vector_file_columns_dict :

Clean Up

clean_processing :

clean_metsim :

clean_vic :

clean_routing :

clean_gee :

clean_altimetry :

clean_basin_parameter_files :

clean_basin_meteorological_data :

clean_previous_outputs :

Confidential

secrets: :

Plugins

`steps` :

`cleaning` :

`project_dir` :

`data_dir` :

`basin_shpfile` :

`basin_shpfile_column_dict` :

`elevation_tif_file` :

`multiple_basin_run` :

`basins_metadata` :

`region_name` :

`basin_name` :

`basin_id` :

`spin_up` :

`start` :

`end` :

`vic_init_state_date` :

`metsim_env` :

`metsim_param_file` :

`metsim_domain_file` :

`historical_precipitation` :

`vic_env` :

`vic_param_file` :

`vic_global_data` :

`vic_global_param_dir` :

`vic_basin_continent_param_filename` :

`vic_basin_continent_domain_filename` :

`vic_soil_param_file` :

`vic_domain_file` :

`route_model` :

`route_param_file` :

`global_flow_dir_tif_file` :

`replace_flow_directions` :

`station_global_data` :

`stations_vector_file` :

`stations_vector_file_columns_dict:` :

`station_latlon_path:` :

`reservoir_vector_file` :

`reservoir_vector_file_columns_dict` :

`bot_filter` :

`aec_dir` :

`catchment_vector_file` :

`catchment_vector_file_columns_dict` :

`clean_processing` :

`clean_metsim` :

`clean_vic` :

`clean_routing` :

`clean_gee` :

`clean_altimetry` :

`clean_basin_parameter_files` :

`clean_basin_meteorological_data` :

`clean_previous_outputs` :

`secrets:` :