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MIKE SHE Public Data Catalog

Philippines

Version: 0.1 test template
Purpose: Country-specific public dataset catalog for building simple to advanced MIKE SHE models
Region: Republic of the Philippines (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and more than 7,000 islands)

Quick Start

Minimum Public Datasets for Recharge Modelling with MIKE SHE (Philippines)

If your objective is to calculate distributed groundwater recharge (without simulating groundwater flow or rivers), only five dataset categories are required.

Good national geodata exist (NAMRIA land cover, LiDAR for major floodplains), but climate station data are mostly obtained by request from PAGASA.

MIKE SHE Input Dataset Type Recommended Dataset Spatial Availability Why recommended
Topography (DEM) Gridded LiPAD – Phil-LiDAR portal LiDAR DTMs (1 m, major floodplains)

FABDEM elsewhere		 Floodplains / global The Phil-LiDAR programmes mapped most major river basins at 1 m. Check portal availability; NAMRIA's national 5 m IfSAR DEM is available by request.
Land Cover Vector Geoportal Philippines (NAMRIA) (NAMRIA land cover) Philippines Official national land-cover map; use with WorldCover for detail.
Soil Hydraulic Properties Vector / gridded Bureau of Soils and Water Management soil maps

SoilGrids		 Philippines BSWM provides national and provincial soil maps; SoilGrids offers gridded texture for pedotransfer functions.
Precipitation Gridded CHIRPS (daily)

GSMaP / GPM IMERG (typhoons, sub-daily)		 Philippines Complete coverage; GSMaP performs well for typhoon rainfall but needs bias correction.
Time Series PAGASA synoptic stations

DOST-ASTI automated weather stations		 Nationwide PAGASA data by request (often free for academic use); ASTI stations give recent automated data.
Meteorological Forcing / Potential ET Gridded ERA5-Land Global Hourly variables for FAO-56 reference ET.
Time Series PAGASA Synoptic stations Full climate variables.

Optional Improvements

Dataset Purpose
Project NOAH Flood, landslide and storm-surge hazard maps
Mines and Geosciences Bureau Geohazard and groundwater maps
Sentinel-1 SAR Typhoon flood mapping and subsidence (InSAR)
GLEAM Actual ET validation
  1. Download LiPAD LiDAR or FABDEM for the model domain.
  2. Delineate the model domain and prepare the terrain model.
  3. Download NAMRIA land cover and assign MIKE SHE vegetation classes.
  4. Download BSWM soil maps or SoilGrids and derive van Genuchten parameters using pedotransfer functions.
  5. Choose your meteorological forcing:
  6. Option A (recommended): Use CHIRPS or GSMaP/IMERG bias-corrected with PAGASA gauges, and ERA5-Land for other variables.
  7. Option B: Use PAGASA station data directly.
  8. Let MIKE SHE calculate evapotranspiration internally using the selected vegetation and soil parameters.
  9. Check simulated actual ET against GLEAM or MODIS MOD16.
  10. Export the distributed groundwater recharge for use in MODFLOW, FEFLOW, or other groundwater models.

1. Introduction for advanced data sources

1.1 Purpose

This document summarizes public datasets that can be used to construct a physically based MIKE SHE model for the Philippines.

The catalog is organized according to the typical MIKE SHE model-building workflow. It covers terrain, land cover, meteorological forcing, ET, rivers, soils, hydrogeology, groundwater, water management, and calibration.

1.2 Intended Use

This catalog is intended for:

  • typhoon flood studies
  • river basin water-balance models
  • groundwater and land subsidence studies (e.g. Metro Manila, Pampanga)
  • irrigation (rice) water management
  • small-island water supply
  • applied MIKE SHE model setup

1.3 General Notes for Philippines

  • The geodetic reference is PRS92, being replaced by the Philippine Geodetic Reference Frame (PGRF); projections use Philippine Transverse Mercator zones or UTM 50–52.
  • Water permits and groundwater regulation are handled by the NWRB.
  • Hazard and flood datasets from Project NOAH and Phil-LiDAR are valuable for model setup and validation.

2. Hydrological Characteristics of the Philippines

2.1 Climate

  • tropical maritime climate
  • south-west monsoon (Habagat, June–September) and north-east monsoon (Amihan, November–February)
  • around 20 tropical cyclones enter the area each year
  • annual rainfall from about 1,000 mm to more than 4,000 mm depending on exposure
  • ENSO-related droughts affecting reservoirs (e.g. Angat)

2.2 Topography

  • mountainous volcanic islands
  • large alluvial plains (Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley)
  • deltas and coastal lowlands around Manila Bay
  • karst areas (e.g. Bohol, Cebu)
  • active volcanoes and lahar-affected rivers (e.g. Pinatubo)

2.3 Major Hydrological Challenges

  • typhoon flooding and storm surge
  • land subsidence from groundwater pumping around Manila Bay
  • seawater intrusion (Metro Manila, Cebu)
  • water supply shortages in Metro Manila
  • landslides and sediment
  • watershed degradation

2.4 Major Aquifer Systems

Important aquifer settings include:

  • Guadalupe Formation and alluvial aquifers of Metro Manila
  • Pampanga and Central Luzon alluvial plains
  • Cebu limestone aquifers
  • volcanic aquifers and springs
  • karst aquifers (e.g. Bohol)
  • small-island freshwater lenses

3. Recommended Dataset Stack

Component Recommended Dataset Alternative Dataset Importance
DEM LiPAD – Phil-LiDAR portal FABDEM, NAMRIA IfSAR ★★★★★
Land cover Geoportal Philippines (NAMRIA) ESA WorldCover ★★★★★
Precipitation CHIRPS GSMaP, GPM IMERG, PAGASA ★★★★★
Climate forcing ERA5-Land PAGASA ★★★★★
Rivers LiPAD – Phil-LiDAR portal / Geoportal Philippines (NAMRIA) MERIT Hydro ★★★★★
Soil Bureau of Soils and Water Management SoilGrids ★★★★☆
Hydrogeology Mines and Geosciences Bureau NWRB groundwater maps ★★★★☆
Groundwater heads National Water Resources Board Water utilities ★★★☆☆
Streamflow DPWH and project gauges GRDC ★★★★☆
Hazards Project NOAH — ★★★★☆
Actual ET GLEAM MODIS MOD16 ★★★☆☆

4. Terrain Model

4.1 Purpose in MIKE SHE

Terrain data are required for model surface elevation, overland-flow gradients, surface storage, catchment delineation, river network verification, and floodplain connectivity.

4.2 Dataset Comparison

Dataset Coverage Resolution MIKE SHE Suitability Advantages Limitations Recommendation
LiPAD – Phil-LiDAR portal Major floodplains 1 m Primary where available Very detailed Portal availability varies ★★★★★
NAMRIA IfSAR Philippines 5 m National Consistent By request ★★★★☆
FABDEM Global 30 m Gap filling Free Coarser ★★★★☆

4.3 Typical Preprocessing

  • reproject to PRS92 / PTM or UTM
  • clip to model domain plus buffer
  • condition drainage and check against the river network
  • resample to model grid
  • smooth only where needed for numerical stability

4.4 Quality Checks

  • check lahar-affected channels for changes since acquisition
  • check coastal subsidence areas
  • merge LiDAR and global DEM carefully at edges

5. Surface Water

5.1 Rivers

Dataset Coverage MIKE SHE / MIKE 1D Use Advantages Limitations Recommendation
LiPAD – Phil-LiDAR portal Major basins River networks and floodplains Detailed Availability ★★★★★
DENR River Basin Control Office Philippines River basin master plans Official Reports ★★★★☆
MERIT Hydro Global Flow directions Consistent 90 m ★★★☆☆

5.2 Lakes, Reservoirs and Wetlands

Dataset Use Recommendation
Geoportal Philippines (NAMRIA) Lakes and reservoirs ★★★★☆
JRC Global Surface Water Water occurrence ★★★★☆
Global Mangrove Watch Mangroves ★★★★☆

5.3 Typical Preprocessing

  • simplify river network
  • align river network with DEM
  • define channel geometry from surveys or estimated widths
  • represent floodplains and wetlands as overland-flow storage
  • assign river, reservoir and tidal boundary conditions

6. Land Cover and Vegetation

6.1 Purpose in MIKE SHE

Land cover and vegetation define interception, ET parameters, root depth, crop coefficients, Manning roughness, irrigation zones, and impervious areas.

6.2 Dataset Comparison

Dataset Coverage Resolution MIKE SHE Use Advantages Limitations Recommendation
Geoportal Philippines (NAMRIA) land cover Philippines 1:50,000 equivalent Primary Official Update cycle ★★★★★
ESA WorldCover Global 10 m Detail Consistent 2020–2021 ★★★★☆

6.3 Vegetation Datasets

Parameter Dataset Use Recommendation
LAI MODIS MCD15A3H Seasonal LAI ★★★★☆
NDVI Sentinel-2 / Landsat Crop calendars and phenology ★★★★☆
Crop coefficient FAO-56 Rice, sugarcane, coconut, corn ★★★★☆

6.4 Typical Preprocessing

  • separate rice (irrigated and rainfed), coconut, sugarcane, forest, grassland and urban
  • represent irrigation schemes (NIA)

7. Meteorological Forcing

7.1 Precipitation

Dataset Coverage Resolution Temporal Resolution MIKE SHE Use Advantages Limitations Recommendation
CHIRPS 50°S–50°N ~5 km Daily Long-term Gauge-blended Daily only ★★★★★
GSMaP Global ~10 km Hourly Typhoon events Good in Asia Bias ★★★★☆
GPM IMERG Global ~10 km 30 min Events Sub-daily Bias ★★★★☆
PAGASA Philippines Point Daily/hourly Bias correction Official By request ★★★★★
DOST-ASTI automated weather stations Philippines Point 10 min Recent events Dense Short records ★★★☆☆

7.2 Climate Variables

Variable Recommended Dataset Alternatives MIKE SHE Use
Air temperature ERA5-Land PAGASA ET
Wind speed ERA5-Land PAGASA Penman-Monteith
Humidity ERA5-Land PAGASA Vapour-pressure deficit
Solar radiation ERA5-Land PAGASA, NASA POWER ET energy term
Reference ET FAO-56 from ERA5-Land TerraClimate PET forcing

7.3 Notes

  • use sub-daily forcing for typhoon events
  • bias-correct satellite rainfall on windward slopes

8. Soil Data

8.1 Dataset Comparison

Dataset Coverage Resolution MIKE SHE Use Advantages Limitations Recommendation
Bureau of Soils and Water Management Philippines Provincial maps Soil zonation National Hydraulic parameters needed ★★★★☆
SoilGrids Global 250 m Gridded parameters Consistent Few local profiles ★★★☆☆

8.2 Typical Preprocessing

  • derive parameters with tropical pedotransfer functions
  • treat volcanic and lahar deposits separately

9. Hydrogeology

9.1 Dataset Comparison

Dataset Coverage Use Advantages Limitations Recommendation
Mines and Geosciences Bureau Philippines Geological and groundwater maps Official Generalized ★★★★☆
NWRB groundwater resource maps Philippines Aquifer availability Water-resource focus Coarse ★★★☆☆
WHYMAP Global Screening Consistent Coarse ★★☆☆☆

9.2 Conceptual Model Recommendations

  • multi-layer coastal aquifers with compaction (Manila Bay)
  • volcanic aquifers and springs
  • karst limestone
  • island freshwater lenses

10. Groundwater Data

Dataset Coverage Use Recommendation
National Water Resources Board Philippines Water permits and monitoring ★★★★☆
Water utilities (MWSS concessionaires, water districts) Local Wellfield heads and pumping ★★★★☆
IGRAC GGIS Global Supplementary ★★☆☆☆

11. Water Management

11.1 Relevant Processes

  • irrigation for rice (NIA systems)
  • Angat and other multipurpose reservoirs
  • groundwater pumping for cities
  • flood control

11.2 Regulatory Framework

  • Water Code of the Philippines (PD 1067) — water permits from NWRB
  • Clean Water Act (RA 9275)
  • river basin management via DENR

11.3 Key Institutions

Topic Institution
Water permits and groundwater National Water Resources Board
Meteorology PAGASA
Mapping Geoportal Philippines (NAMRIA)
Geology Mines and Geosciences Bureau
Soils Bureau of Soils and Water Management
Irrigation National Irrigation Administration
River basins DENR River Basin Control Office

12. Remote Sensing Products

Dataset Resolution Use Recommendation
Sentinel-1 SAR 10 m Flood mapping, InSAR subsidence, wetness under cloud ★★★★★
Sentinel-2 10 m Land cover, irrigation and crop calendars ★★★★☆
GLEAM ~25 km Actual ET ★★★☆☆
MODIS MOD16 500 m Actual ET ★★★☆☆
SMAP / ESA CCI Soil Moisture ~9–25 km Soil moisture ★★★☆☆
GRACE / GRACE-FO ~300 km Large-basin storage change ★★☆☆☆

13. Calibration Datasets

Target Dataset Use Recommendation
Discharge DPWH, NIA and project gauges Streamflow ★★★★☆
Flood extent Sentinel-1 SAR Typhoon floods ★★★★★
Heads Utilities and NWRB SZ calibration ★★★☆☆
Subsidence Sentinel-1 InSAR Compaction ★★★★☆

Recommended strategy: combine discharge with flood-extent and InSAR data.

14. Typical MIKE SHE Workflow

  1. Define modelling objective and domain.
  2. Prepare the DEM from LiPAD LiDAR and FABDEM.
  3. Build the river network from LiPAD and MERIT Hydro.
  4. Prepare land cover from NAMRIA land cover.
  5. Assign vegetation parameters, rooting depths and crop calendars.
  6. Prepare precipitation from CHIRPS or GSMaP/IMERG with PAGASA gauges.
  7. Prepare climate forcing and reference ET from ERA5-Land.
  8. Prepare soil properties from BSWM and SoilGrids.
  9. Build hydrogeological layers from MGB and NWRB maps.
  10. Add pumping and irrigation from NWRB permits and utility records.
  11. Couple rivers and groundwater.
  12. Calibrate against available discharge and heads.
  13. Validate with Sentinel-1 flood extents and InSAR.
  14. Document assumptions and uncertainties.

15. Minimum Dataset Package

Model Element Dataset
DEM FABDEM
Land cover Geoportal Philippines (NAMRIA)
Precipitation CHIRPS
Climate ERA5-Land
Soils SoilGrids
Hydrogeology Mines and Geosciences Bureau

16. Recommended Dataset Package

Model Element Dataset
DEM LiPAD LiDAR + IfSAR
Precipitation GSMaP/IMERG + PAGASA
Soils BSWM + SoilGrids
Validation Sentinel-1 + NOAH hazard maps

17. Premium Dataset Package

Dataset Type Possible Source Purpose
Discharge gauging Project installation Calibration
Monitoring wells Utilities Heads
Pumping tests Projects Aquifer parameters

18. Dataset Comparison Table Template

Dataset Coverage Spatial Resolution Temporal Resolution Time Period Format API / Access License MIKE SHE Use Advantages Limitations Recommendation
★☆☆☆☆

19. Data Preparation Checklist

Terrain

  • [ ] DEM downloaded (or requested) and licence checked
  • [ ] DEM projected and clipped
  • [ ] drainage checked against river network

Surface Water

  • [ ] river network prepared
  • [ ] reservoirs, wetlands and floodplains identified
  • [ ] boundary conditions assigned

Land Cover and Vegetation

  • [ ] land cover reclassified
  • [ ] irrigated areas and crop calendars defined
  • [ ] LAI and rooting depths assigned

Weather

  • [ ] precipitation prepared and compared with station data
  • [ ] climate forcing prepared
  • [ ] reference ET calculated

Soil

  • [ ] soil data downloaded or requested
  • [ ] hydraulic parameters derived

Groundwater

  • [ ] geology and hydrogeology collected
  • [ ] heads and pumping data requested
  • [ ] boundary conditions defined

Calibration and Validation

  • [ ] discharge data obtained
  • [ ] ET and remote-sensing validation data prepared
  • [ ] calibration and validation periods defined

Philippines-specific

  • [ ] LiPAD availability checked
  • [ ] PAGASA data request made
  • [ ] typhoon events selected for calibration

20. References and Official Data Portals

National and regional sources

Global sources

21. Notes on Uncertainty

  • typhoon rainfall intensity
  • LiDAR age and channel change
  • groundwater pumping in cities
  • limited long discharge records
  • subsidence rates

A defensible model should document dataset choices, preprocessing assumptions, calibration strategy, validation results, and known limitations.