Terrain Type

Terrain Types in relation to Terrains and Terrain Type Overrides.

Terrain types are definitions of how the ground behaves. Oftentimes, the (sub)soil consists of a mixture of various types of material. Each individual material can be considered a type of terrain, the combination of materials can be considered a type of terrain as well.

Terrain Types in the Tygron Platform are abstract definitions of either a surface or ground composition of the Terrain. In other words, every Terrain Type belongs either to the surface layer or the underground layer. Each Terrain Type has a series of Attributes defining its exact properties and behavior, both for functionalities such as the generation of the default elevation model, as well as for calculation models ranging from the Average Overlay to the Water Overlay.

Terrain types do not contains spatial information. Instead they form an integral part of Terrains, which themselves do contain spatial information. Every Terrain item links to one Terrain Type, which in turn determines in what layer the Terrain is situated.

Surface

Surface Terrain Types represent the soil as as it lies on the very top of the Terrain. It is often a single layer such as Grassland, Concrete, or a Waterway. In most cases, the surface Terrain Type also affects the visualization of the height-map in the 3D Visualization. Water is most obvious, as water will be drawn on top of the existing Terrain. However, all Terrain Types have a set texture which will be shown in any location where the Terrain is changed for a different Terrain Type. (Otherwise the default satellite map will be visible.)

The following Terrain Types exist for the surface:

Terrain type	Dutch name	Layer	Description
Breakwater	Golfbreker	Surface	A Building designed to protect the coastline from wave action.
Concrete	Beton	Surface	Commonly found in urban and industrial areas.
Dunes	Duinen	Surface	A naturally occurring landscape feature forming the division between the beach and the hinterland.
Grassland	Grasland	Surface	An area dominated by grass vegetation.
Open land	Open land	Surface	Open land is the default Terrain Type of surface layer Terrains placed in a new project.
Levee	Dijk	Surface	A levee usually built between a water body and low-lying land (polder) offering protection from flooding.
Sand	Zand	Surface	Area largely consisting of sandy sediment.
Sea	Zee	Surface	Water that is part of a sea or an ocean.
Waterbody	Watervlakte	Surface	A waterbody which is often not part of a 'managed' water system.
Waterway	Waterloop	Surface	A waterway water which is part of a (regulated) water system, such as a canal or a river.

Each surface Terrain Type contains the following attributes:

Attribute	Unit	Layer	Range	Description
ANGLE_OF_REPOSE	angle (0-90°)	Ground		The different subsurface types each attain a value for the maximum slope (Dutch: talud). This value is used for creating the water edge steepness and indirect for the water depth.
BOWEN_RATIO	ratio	Surface	0.001 to 10	The ratio between two forms of heat transfer between this building's surface and the atmosphere.
BUILDABLE	boolean	Both		Whether it is permitted to place Buildings here
COLOR	Color	Both		The color of the terrain.
GROUND_INFILTRATION_MD	m/day	Surface		The speed at which water can flow vertically from the surface to the unsaturated zone.
GROUND_INFILTRATION_MD	m/day	Ground		The speed at which water can flow vertically from the surface to the unsaturated zone.
HEAT_EFFECT	°C	Surface		Measure of impact on the Heat Overlay
HYDRAULIC_CONDUCTIVITY_MD	m/day	Ground		The hydraulic conductivity (symbolically represented as K) is defined as the speed by which water moves through the saturated zone horizontally.
HYDRAULIC_CONDUCTIVITY_WITH_THICKNESS_MD	m2/day	Ground		The hydraulic conductivity (symbolically represented as KD) is defined as the speed by which water moves through the saturated layer horizontally, multiplied with the layer thickness.
LIVABILITY_EFFECT		Surface		Measure of impact on the Livability Overlay.
PEAT_FRACTION	fraction	Underground		The fraction of the subsurface which will be considered to be peat by the Subsidence Overlay.
ROOT_DEPTH_M	m	Surface		The depth of the roots of the terrain type. This depth is used to determine whether evaporation will occur from the groundwater.
SUBSIDENCE	boolean	Ground		Whether or not subsidence should be calculated for a terrain or in a given area. Subsidence is calculated when the value is not equal to 0.
TERRAIN_MIX		Surface
TEXTURE TYPE	Integer	Surface	0 to 2	Value used to select the terrain blend color.
TOPLAYER_THICKNESS	m	Ground		The depth of the clay soil layer, as considered by the Subsidence Overlay.
VEGETATION_FRACTION	fraction	Surface		The amount of green which this Terrain Type provides per m².
WATER	nominal	Surface		Whether this Terrain Type represents a form of water (and what type).
WATER_DEPTH_M	m	Surface		The default depth of this water Terrain Type, relative to the surrounding elevation.
WATER_EVAPORATION_FACTOR	factor	Surface		How fast this terrain can evaporate water from the ground. The weather's evaporation speed is multiplied by this factor to determine the rate of evaporation.
WATER_MANNING	s/(m^1/3)	Surface		The Gauckler–Manning coefficient of the terrain, which is a measure of surface roughness. Used in the surface flow computation of the Water Overlay.
WATER_MICRORELIEF_M	m	Surface	0 - 0.255	The defined Microrelief in meters, which captures surface water. When captured, surface flow is halted until the defined threshold is reached. Evaporation and infiltration for water captured in Mircrorelief is still allowed.
WATER_STORAGE_PERCENTAGE	fraction (m³/m³)	Ground		The percentage (as a fraction) of the ground layer volume which can be filled with water. A lower percentage means the ground layer will be able to store less water, and the saturated zone will rise higher with the same amount of water in the ground layer.

Underground

Underground Terrain Types represent the subsoil; everything beneath the surface. The underground Terrain Type is still considered present as much as the surface Terrain Type in the same location, but is not displayed directly in the 3D Visualization. The layout of the underground can be seen using the Underground Overlay.

The following Terrain Types exist for the surface:

Terrain type	Dutch name	Layer	Description
Gravel	Grind	Underground
Clay	Klei	Underground
Chalk	Krijt	Underground
Loam	Leem	Underground
Loess	Löss	Underground
Unknown	Onbekend	Underground	This is the default underground Terrain Type when no subsurface data is available.
Silt	Silt	Underground
Peat	Veen	Underground
Sand (subsurface)	Zand (ondergronds)	Underground
Marine clay	Zeeklei	Underground

Each underground Terrain Type contains the following attributes:

Attribute	Unit	Layer	Description
ANGLE_OF_REPOSE	angle (0-90°)	Ground	The different subsurface types each attain a value for the maximum slope (Dutch: talud). This value is used for creating the water edge steepness and indirect for the water depth.
BUILDABLE	boolean	Both	Whether it is permitted to place Buildings here
GROUND_INFILTRATION_MD	m/day	Surface	The speed at which water can flow vertically from the surface to the unsaturated zone.
GROUND_INFILTRATION_MD	m/day	Ground	The speed at which water can flow vertically from the surface to the unsaturated zone.
PEAT_FRACTION	fraction	Underground	The fraction of the subsurface which will be considered to be peat by the Subsidence Overlay.
TOPLAYER_THICKNESS	m	Ground	The depth of the clay soil layer, as considered by the Subsidence Overlay.
WATER_STORAGE_PERCENTAGE	fraction (m³/m³)	Ground	The percentage (as a fraction) of the ground layer volume which can be filled with water. A lower percentage means the ground layer will be able to store less water, and the saturated zone will rise higher with the same amount of water in the ground layer.

How-to's

How to manually change the Terrain

Terrain Type

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Underground

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