MWSWAT

MWSWAT screen MWSWAT is a plugin for MapWindow, an Open Source GIS system available from http://www.mapwindow.org which runs under the Windows operating system. The MWSWAT plugin, which is also open source, is downloaded as a Windows installer.

MWSAT Installation

After installing MapWindow, unzip mwswat.zip in the folder C:\Program Files\MapWindow\Plugins. This creates a sub-folder MWSWAT, and MWSWAT will appear in the Plug-ins menu the next time you start MapWindow.

You will also need to download and install the MWSWAT Editor, available from the SWAT site or from here

Data

A large amount of global data is available for download.

World Data Grids

World Data Grids screen This is a MapWindow project contained in a zip archive that allows you to graphically select the DEMs, landuse, and soil maps that you need for your location. Just unzip the archive and open the project file World_Data_Grids.mwprj in MapWindow.

Digital Elevation Maps (DEMs)

DEMs for most of the world are available from CGIAR-CSI. The quantity of data for the world is very large, but our geo-processing guide (see the documents page) explains how to select the files you need.

Landuse Maps

Landuse tiles Landuse maps for most of the world are available from WaterBase. They come in the form of zip files containing 1 or more tiles for each continent. They come in two resolutions, the originals at approximately 400 meters (at the equator) and the resampled at 800 meters. The first are a little more accurate but the they take some time to load and minipulate in MapWindow. You may prefer to use the resampled ones at least while you are learning to set up and run SWAT.

Soil Maps

Soil tiles Soil maps for most of the world are available from WaterBase. They come in the form of zip files containing 1 or more tiles for each continent.

Weather Data

Weather data for a number of weather stations across the world are available from WaterBase for each of the years 2000 to 2005. You need to download the list of list of stations plus data for the years you want:

Global River Basins

Shape files for river basins across the world are available from WaterBase, divided into continents:

Example Watersheds

Two example watersheds have been created, San Juan in Mexico and Linthipe in Malawi. Initial geo-processing for these watersheds is described in the geo-processing document, and the use of MWSWAT to set up and run SWAT on them is described in the MWSWAT setup document, both on the documents page. The other resources, maps and weather generator files, that you need for them are in two zip archives:

Source Code

The source code is available from the MapWindow subversion repository at http://svn.mapwindow.org/svnroot/MWSWAT. This is best accessed by a tool like Tortoise.