Standard and Nonstandard Topographic Products

Mobility

B-165. The mobility model provides speed predictions for movement on road, off road, and across rivers and streams under specific weather conditions. It is also used to determine the major reasons (primary vehicle, terrain, or weather influences) that cause either restricted mobility or speed reductions for vehicles or foot marches. The mobility model uses—

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] Reference Mobility Model II (NRMMII).
• The Waterways Experiment Station (WES) algorithm integrated with the Arc Info and Grid GIS.
• Regional attribute translation tables.
• DMA feature file (DMAFF) ITD attributes (limited area coverage).
• Historical weather inputs and IMETS weather data.

B-166. The following are examples of TDAs produced by the mobility model:

• On-road speed. Depicts the on-road speed for a user-specified vehicle using the NRMMII as determined from weather data, soil conditions, and the transportation network. See Figure B-1 B-11.
• Off-road speed. Depicts the off-road speed for a user-specified vehicle using the NRMMII as determined from weather data, soil conditions, vegetation, slope, and obstacles. See Figure B-2.
• On-road reason. Depicts the on-road speed and the limiting factors for a particular on-road speed product. See Figure B-3.
• Off-road reason. Depicts the off-road speed and the limiting factors for a particular off-road speed product. See Figure B-4.
• On-road comparison. Depicts the on-road areas where one vehicle has a speed advantage over another vehicle, taking into account the on-road speed predictions for each vehicle. See Figure B-5.
• Off-road comparison. Depicts the off-road areas where one vehicle has a speed advantage over another vehicle, taking into account the off-road speed predictions for each vehicle. See Figure B-6.
• Trafficability. Depicts the number of passes a user-specified vehicle can cross the terrain before it becomes severely restricted. See Figure B-7.
• Surface degradation. Depicts the rut depth created by a vehicle for a user-specified number of passes with a user-specified vehicle. See Figure B-8.
• Gap crossing. Depicts the ford, span, and swim capability for a user-specified vehicle. See Figure B-9.
• Gap-crossing reason. Depicts the reasons why conditions exist for a particular gap-crossing product. See Figure B-10.
• On-road route. Depicts the optimum on-road route between two or more user-specified points by analyzing an existing on-road speed product. See Figure B-11.
• Overland route. Depicts the best overland route between two or more user-specified points by analyzing an input shaded-time-distance product. The start point for the overland-route product must be the same point used to generate the shaded-time-distance product. See Figure B-12.
• Mobility corridors. Depicts the maximum size corridors around restricted areas using an off-road speed product together with troop size. See Figure B-13.
• Shaded-time distance. Depicts the time required for a user-specified vehicle to travel from a user-specified location to all other locations in the AOI. This product is generated from existing on-road and off-road speed products. See Figure B-14.

Terrain Elevation

-167. The terrain-elevation model produces products based on DTED. These products will provide the battlefield commander with a quick view of the terrain based on relief and slope. Elevation products are useful for determining air avenues of approach (AAs), signal transmission and reception sites, key terrain, and mobility (based on slope).

B-168. The following are examples of TDAs produced by the terrain-elevation model:

• Contours. Depicts a contour map at user-defined intervals from elevation data. See Figure B-15.
• Contour tint. Depicts contours color coded to user-defined intervals. Intervals can be constant or variable. See Figure B-16.
• Elevation tint. Depicts a polygonal banded elevation product at user-defined intervals. Intervals can be constant or variable. See Figure B-17.
• Slope. Depicts polygonal groupings of user-defined slope ranges in percent. See Figure B-18.
• Slope aspect. Depicts the prevailing direction of slope (for example, north facing or east facing). See Figure B-19.

Special-Purpose Product Builder

B-169. The SPPB model provides the capability to produce, combine, and query attributes of existing products. This enables the creation of user-defined output products such as concealment, bivouac sites, construction resources, drop zones, and landing zones. The SPPB model—

• Uses user-defined queries from vector data or existing products.
• Uses ITD, VITD, DFAD, and FFD.
• Has the ability to store, edit, and share frequently used queries.
• Incorporates proximity analysis or size criteria.

B-170. The following are examples of TDAs produced by the SPPB model:

• Data query. Data query allows the user to create tailored products by querying the feature attribute database.
• Helicopter landing zone. These zones are created by querying the ITD database for relatively flat slope areas, sparse vegetation, and well-drained soils. See Figure B-20.
• Smart Stacker. Smart Stacker performs Boolean queries between existing product categories to create new product categories. Unlike Product Stacker, which results in everything in all input products, Smart Stacker results in a product that meets the query criteria from each input product. Input can be any polygonal mobility, terrain-elevation, intervisibility, or SPPB product. The displayed product depicts acceptable helicopter landing zones in masked areas. The helicopter landing-zone product created in data query and the masked-area plot product created with the intervisibility functions was inputted to creat this product. See Figure B-21.

Intervisibility

-171. The intervisibility models graphically display information based on terrain elevation (including feature height [vegetation]) if it is selected and available. The models are used to depict areas where observers and targets would be visible to each other or hidden from view. The intervisibility model—

• Uses digital elevation data as input.
• Can include feature height information.
• Uses user-specified sites or flight paths.
• Uses user-specified target locations or altitudes.
• Uses optical or electronic LOS.

B-172. The following are examples of TDAs produced by the intervisibility model:

• Masked-area plot. Depicts areas around a site in which a target (at a user-specified altitude) is shielded from that site. See Figure B-22.
• Target acquisition. Depicts the points at which incoming targets (at user-specified altitudes) first become visible to a user-specified site. Product description includes refractivity parameters, angular radial increments, and the minimum detection zone. See Figure B-23.
• Flight-line masking. Depicts the areas of the terrain that are masked from the view of an aircraft following a user-specified flight path when the line of view is perpendicular to the flight line. See Figure B-24.
• Flight-line target locator. Calculates the minimum altitude necessary for an aircraft to keep a specific target in view. See Figure B-25.
• Obstructed-signal loss. Depicts radio-frequency signal loss around a user-specified site as a function of distance from the site and atmospheric conditions as well as effects of the terrain. See Figure B-26.
• Unobstructed-signal loss. Depicts radio-frequency signal loss around a user-specified site as a function of distance from the site and atmospheric conditions. This model does not take into consideration the effects of terrain on the signal loss. See Figure B-27.

Tactical Dam Analysis

B-173. The TACDAM model predicts dam breaching and reservoir overflow results based on DTED, vector coverage, and other user-defined parameters. The TACDAM model has the following characteristics:

• Digital elevation data is used as input.
• Vector drainage coverage can be used to locate dams, reservoirs, and downstream points.
• Two major analysis modules are used—dam break and reservoir outflow.
• Reservoir outflow requires additional spillway-gate parameters.

B-174. The following are examples of TDAs produced by the TACDAM model:

• Dam break, flood zone. Depicts a polygonal product that represents the extent of the flooded area when a dam has been damaged. See Figure B-28.
• Dam break, depth contour. Depicts a polygonal product that represents the depth of the water (in meters) within the flooded area when a dam has been damaged. See Figure B-29.
• Dam break, velocity contour. Depicts a polygonal product that represents the water velocities (in kilometers per hour [kph]) within the flooded area when a dam has been damaged. See Figure B-30.
• Reservoir outflow, flood zone. Depicts a polygonal product that represents the extent of the flooded area when a reservoir has been damaged.
• Reservoir outflow, depth contour. Depicts a polygonal product that represents the depth of the water (in meters) within the flooded area when a reservoir has been damaged.
• Reservoir outflow, velocity contour. Depicts a polygonal product that represents the water velocities (in kph) within the flooded area when a reservoir has been damaged.

Integrated Meteorological System

B-175. IMETS data is converted into polygonal vector coverages that are used as stand-alone products or interactive data needed to predict mobility and intervisibility. The IMETS models has the following characteristics:

• The model uses meteorological data obtained from an IMETS server.
• Data sets consist of numeric values that represent observed and forecasted meteorological conditions.
• TDAs are produced by grouping numeric values into polygonal classes.

B-176. The following are examples of TDAs produced by the IMETS model:

• Surface pressure. Depicts a polygonal product representing surface pressure (in millibars). See Figure B-31.
• Surface-wind direction. Depicts a polygonal product representing surface-wind direction. Wind direction is provided in degrees (with 0 being north) and increasing in a clockwise direction. The direction provided is always the direction the wind is blowing. See Figure B-32.
• Soil temperature. Depicts a polygonal product representing soil temperature (in degrees Celsius). See Figure B-33.
• Visibility. Depicts a polygonal product representing visibility (in kilometers). See Figure B-34.
• Ambient air temperature. Depicts a polygonal product representing ambient air temperature (in degrees Celsius).
• Dew point. Depicts a polygonal product representing dew point (in degrees Celsius).
• Snow depth. Depicts a polygonal product representing snow depth (in millimeters).
• Rain rate. Depicts a polygonal product representing rain rate (in millimeters per hour).
• Accumulated precipitation. Depicts a polygonal product representing accumulated precipitation (in millimeters).

Environmental and Climatology

B-177. The environmental and climatology models provide planning tools to determine the effects on material and personnel; sunrise and sunset; moonrise, moonset, and illumination; helicopter load predictions; and historical climatology. The following are examples of TDAs produced by the environmental and climatology models:

• Environmental thresholds and impacts (ETIs). The user can query information that contains quantitative and qualitative statements regarding the effects of the environment on material, personnel, or operations.
• Sunrise, sunset, and twilight. Predicts sunrise, sunset, and twilight times for user-specified dates and locations.
• Moonrise, moonset, and illumination. Predicts moonrise and moonset times and moon illumination percentage for user-specified dates and locations.
• Climatology databases. The user can query historical databases such as historical climatic statistics, density altitude climatology, surface-wind climatology, and paradrop climatology collected from stations across the world.
• Helicopter load determination. The user can query the maximum load-carrying capabilities of different helicopters for different temperatures and altitudes.

Digital Data Viewer

B-179. Terrain-evaluation tools provide the ability to view maps, imagery, feature data, and elevation data in numerous digital file formats (see Figure B-35). This allows the user to focus on a specific area for evaluation.

Line of Site

B-180. The LOS creates a profile view of the terrain from the observer's location to a target. The green lines show what the observer can see; the red lines show what he cannot see (dead space). The LOS can also display the Fresnel zones of different radio frequencies. See Figure B-36.

Terrain Category

B-183. The terrain category allows you to highlight a specific combination of slope, relief, and elevation values using the elevation file. Figure B-39 shows all areas of a 500-meter radius with a slope of 0 to 2 percent. This application is especially helpful in locating base-camp sites; landing zones and drop zones; artillery cant; petroleum, oil, and lubricants (POL) and water sites; and so forth.

Perspective View

B-184. Perspective view creates a 3-D view from a chosen position. You can select the observer's elevation, width of view, and range. This is especially helpful in checking battle positions, AAs, and terrain association. You can also drape the actual elevation colors, imagery, and maps on top. See Figures B-40 and B-41.

Oblique View

B-185. An oblique view creates a 3-D view of the terrain from an aerial point of view. It is especially helpful in terrain visualization in areas with significant relief. Obliques can also be used to view battle positions, AAs, mobility corridors, and engagement-area development. You can drape imagery, maps, or overlays as obliques. See Figure B-42.

Flythrough

B-186. A flythrough allows you to fly across the terrain in a 3-D view, whether viewed with the elevation data, over imagery, or on a map. This tool will create a series of perspective views along your selected flight path, which are played in rapid succession. The flythrough has many options and can be saved as an animated graphics interchange format (GIF), video, or movie file for viewing outside of the terrain-evaluations tool.

Panorama

B-187. A panorama view allows you to view the terrain 360 degrees around you, whether on the ground or in the air. Like a flythrough, it can be viewed with the elevation data, over imagery, or on a map. This tool will create a series of perspective views at selected angle increments, which are played in rapid succession going clockwise or counterclockwise. The panorama view has many options and can be saved as video and movie files for viewing outside of the terrain-evaluation tools.

GPS Waypoints and Tracks

B-188. GPS waypoints and tracks can be downloaded from the military precise lightweight GPS receiver (PLGR). The waypoints or track can be displayed in the terrain-evaluation tool. Additionally, the track can be used to create a flythrough. Waypoints can also be created in the terrain-evaluation tool and uploaded to a military GPS receiver. The user can then navigate solely by GPS. The latter technique can be used to upload a route into all of the GPS receivers for a unit making a night move. Live GPS tracking capability provides real-time bearing and speed data.

Distance Measurements

B-189. The terrain-evaluation tool has a simple distance-measuring routine with which to calculate the length of single or multileg routes in kilometers. For multileg routes, it will keep track of both individual leg lengths and the cumulative route length. The terrain-evaluation tool can also calculate the slope and bearing of each leg as well.

Coordinate Conversion

B-190. The terrain-evaluation tool provides imbedded datum transformation and coordinate conversions. It also has the ability to display primary and secondary datums in one display.

Elevation Merge

B-191. Another important capability of the terrain-evaluation tool is to merge multiple elevation files into one file (all operations seem to fall on the edge of two or more files). You can then permanently subset a small elevation slice out of the large file to cover your AO. See Figure B-43.

Elevation or Slope Merge with Maps or Imagery

B-192. This terrain-evaluation tool gives the user an opportunity to visualize the relief while maintaining a common map or image background. See Figures B-44 and B-45.

Summary

B-193. The tools provided to the topographic community as well as the tools provided to the individual customer allow the user to view, value add, manipulate, and print digitized maps and imagery. See Figures B-46 through B-48.

B-194. The integration of standard NIMA GI with data collected through other methods (qualified data) will provide a means to thoroughly visualize the terrain. The DTSS has the capability to combine layers of geographic information with TDAs and qualified data to produce a customer-defined terrain analysis or terrain depiction of the battle space. The terrain-evaluation tools provide a similar capability; however, they are limited by the amount and type of data they can consume, process, and analyze. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure B-20. Helicopter landing zone

 

Figure B-21. Helicopter landing zones in masked areas (LANDSAT background)

 

Figure B-22. Masked-area plot (shaded relief background)

 

 

 

Figure B-24. Flight-line masking (shaded relief background)

 

 

Figure B-26. Obstructed-signal loss

 

Figure B-27. Unobstructed-signal loss

 

 

 

 

 

Figure B-30. Dam break, velocity contour

 

 

Figure B-32. Surface-wind direction

 

Figure B-33. Soil temperature

 

Figure B-34. Visibility

 

Figure B-35. Digital data viewing

 

Figure B-36. Line of sight