The Visualization Module provides tools for evaluating the current state of the watershed. The module’s main display has several visualization tools that help to identify whether critical conditions exist. Icons, plots and graphs, the Alert Message Bar, and animated background images can all be used for monitoring observed data for a watershed.

Icons in the Visualization Module provide a flexible set of tools to facilitate monitoring and evaluating the current state of the watershed. To view current conditions at a glance, you can replace graphical icons with dynamic thumbnail plots and threshold color bars that change color to reflect the status of various parameters at a particular location.

Threshold Color Bars

A Threshold Color Bar (Figure 1) is a thick, segmented line representing a linear histogram that compares current data against threshold values set for a location. Because threshold color bars are location dependent, you must set the values for each time series icon individually (Configuring Thumbnail Plots). The name of the location appears adjacent to the threshold color bar, and the length of the Threshold Color Bar represents a time line equal to the duration of the time window. Segments along the color bar reflect time intervals, with colors corresponding to the limits you have defined. The threshold color bars are updated dynamically at the time interval that you entered in the Set Time Window dialog (Setting the Specific Time Window).

Figure 1 Threshold Color Bars

As part of your daily routine, you should review threshold color bars to determine if the incoming data is good and which data needs to be validated. To view the legend for threshold color bars:

  1. Select either the Time Series Icon Tool or Selector Tool from the Map Window Toolbar.
  2. Right-click on a time series icon that has the icon type of a Threshold Color Bar, choose Icon Legend from the shortcut menu, and the Threshold Legend dialog (Figure 2) opens.
  3. The legend shows the threshold values for the current data and the colors that represent each threshold value.
    Figure 2 Threshold Legend Dialog

Thumbnail Plots

In some cases, you may wish to use thumbnail plots to represent gages and time series locations. Thumbnail Plots (Figure 3) are miniature versions of the full-size plots available in CWMS, showing data for the duration of the time window. The name of the location appears adjacent to the thumbnail plot. As the time window updates, CWMS refreshes the data and updates the plot.

Figure 3 Thumbnail Plots

To view the legend for thumbnail plots:

  1. Select either the Time Series Icon Tool or Selector Tool from the Map Window Toolbar.
  2. Right-click a thumbnail plot, click Icon Legend from the shortcut menu, and the Thumbnail Plot Legend dialog (Figure 4) opens.
    Figure 4 Thumbnail Plot Legend Dialog
  3. The legend displays the pathname, the color of the curve, and the minimum and maximum values of the curve. To edit the color of the curve shown in the thumbnail plot, see Configuring Thumbnail Plots.

Using Plots

If the threshold color bar or thumbnail plot for a location indicates that the incoming data is questionable or bad, viewing the data in a plot can help you to determine the nature of the problem.

To access plots of incoming data:

  1. Select either the Time Series Icon Tool or Selector Tool from the Map Window Toolbar.
  2. Right-click on a time series icon, click Plot from the shortcut menu and a CWMS Plot dialog (Figure 5) opens.
  3. The CWMS Plot dialog displays a two-dimensional plot that contains data for that location for the current time window. Use the Zoom Tool to zoom in on a specific portion of the plot. See CWMS CAVI Main Window for a more detailed description of the Zoom Tool. In addition, a more detailed description on the plots can be found in Watershed Pane.
    Figure 5 CWMS Plot Dialog

Using Tables

If the color bar or thumbnail plot for a location suggests that the incoming data is atypical or unexpected, viewing the data in a table allows you to examine the data in finer detail.

To access tables of incoming data:

  1. Select either the Time Series Icon Tool or Selector Tool from the Map Window Toolbar.
  2. Right-click on a time series icon, click Tabulate from the shortcut menu, and the CWMS Table dialog (Figure 6) opens.

If you have already opened a plot, you can also tabulate the data:

  1. Open a CWMS Plot dialog as shown above.
  2. From the File menu, click Tabulate, and the CWMS Table dialog (Figure 6) opens.

For more details on tabular data in CWMS, see Watershed Pane. For printing and exporting tabular data, see Printing and Copying CWMS Data.

Figure 6 CWMS Table Dialog