Skip to content

MIKE SHE Public Data Catalog

Thailand

Version: 0.1 test template
Purpose: Country-specific public dataset catalog for building simple to advanced MIKE SHE models
Region: Kingdom of Thailand (North, North-east / Khorat Plateau, Central Plain, East, South)

Quick Start

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

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

Thailand has good national soil and water data. High-resolution DEMs are available by request; telemetry data are public via ThaiWater.

MIKE SHE Input Dataset Type Recommended Dataset Spatial Availability Why recommended
Topography (DEM) Gridded FABDEM

LDD / RTSD national DEMs (by request)		 Global / Thailand Free 30 m DEM; higher-resolution national DEMs by request.
Land Cover Vector Land Development Department (LDD) land-use maps

ESA WorldCover		 Thailand Official land use with detailed agricultural classes.
Soil Hydraulic Properties Vector Land Development Department (LDD) soil series maps (1:25,000) Thailand Detailed soil series with properties; derive hydraulic parameters with pedotransfer functions.
Precipitation Time Series ThaiWater (Hydro-Informatics Institute) telemetry

Thai Meteorological Department		 Nationwide Real-time and recent telemetry rainfall; TMD historical data by request.
Gridded CHIRPS / GSMaP Thailand Complete gridded coverage.
Meteorological Forcing / Potential ET Gridded ERA5-Land Global Hourly variables for FAO-56 reference ET.
Time Series Thai Meteorological Department Stations Full climate variables.

Optional Improvements

Dataset Purpose
Royal Irrigation Department Discharge, reservoirs and irrigation projects
Department of Groundwater Resources Groundwater wells, monitoring and hydrogeology
SERVIR-Mekong Regional Land Cover Monitoring System Annual land cover
GLEAM Actual ET validation
  1. Download FABDEM (or national DEM) for the model domain.
  2. Delineate the model domain and prepare the terrain model.
  3. Download LDD land use and assign MIKE SHE vegetation classes.
  4. Download LDD soil series and derive van Genuchten parameters using pedotransfer functions.
  5. Choose your meteorological forcing:
  6. Option A (recommended): Use ThaiWater/TMD stations with CHIRPS for gaps, and ERA5-Land for other variables.
  7. Option B: Use GSMaP/IMERG for sub-daily events.
  8. Let MIKE SHE calculate evapotranspiration internally using the selected vegetation and soil parameters.
  9. Represent paddy ponding and irrigation seasons.
  10. Check simulated actual ET against GLEAM or MODIS MOD16.
  11. 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 Thailand.

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:

  • Chao Phraya flood studies
  • Bangkok groundwater and subsidence studies
  • irrigation water management
  • North-east drought and salinity studies
  • applied MIKE SHE model setup

1.3 General Notes for Thailand

  • Coordinate system: WGS 84 / UTM 47N or 48N (legacy Indian 1975).
  • Many portals are in Thai.
  • The Water Resources Act B.E. 2561 (2018) created a national water framework under ONWR.

2. Hydrological Characteristics of Thailand

2.1 Climate

  • tropical monsoon; south-west monsoon May–October
  • dry season November–April (south peninsula has a different regime)
  • annual rainfall around 1,000–1,500 mm in the North-east, up to 4,000 mm+ on the west coast of the south
  • major floods (e.g. 2011) and droughts

2.2 Topography

  • northern mountains
  • Central Plain (Chao Phraya)
  • Khorat Plateau in the North-east
  • southern peninsula

2.3 Major Hydrological Challenges

  • floods in the Central Plain
  • Bangkok land subsidence (historically from groundwater pumping)
  • drought and irrigation demand
  • groundwater salinity in the North-east (rock salt formations)
  • reservoir operations

2.4 Major Aquifer Systems

Important aquifer settings include:

  • Bangkok multi-layer aquifer system (eight main aquifers)
  • Chiang Mai basin
  • Khorat Plateau aquifers with saline zones
  • southern coastal and karst aquifers

3. Recommended Dataset Stack

Component Recommended Dataset Alternative Dataset Importance
DEM FABDEM LDD / RTSD (by request) ★★★★☆
Land cover Land Development Department (LDD) ESA WorldCover, SERVIR-Mekong Regional Land Cover Monitoring System ★★★★★
Precipitation ThaiWater (Hydro-Informatics Institute) CHIRPS, GSMaP, Thai Meteorological Department ★★★★★
Climate ERA5-Land Thai Meteorological Department ★★★★★
Rivers and discharge Royal Irrigation Department MERIT Hydro ★★★★★
Soil Land Development Department (LDD) SoilGrids ★★★★★
Hydrogeology Department of Groundwater Resources WHYMAP ★★★★★
Groundwater heads Department of Groundwater Resources — ★★★★★
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
FABDEM Global 30 m Primary (free) Canopy removed Flat-plain accuracy ★★★★☆
LDD / RTSD DEM Thailand ≤5–10 m Detailed models Official By request ★★★★★

4.3 Typical Preprocessing

  • reproject to UTM 47N/48N
  • 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 embankments and polders in the Central Plain
  • check subsidence areas around Bangkok

5. Surface Water

5.1 Rivers

Dataset Coverage MIKE SHE / MIKE 1D Use Advantages Limitations Recommendation
Royal Irrigation Department Thailand Discharge stations and canals Official Thai ★★★★★
ThaiWater (Hydro-Informatics Institute) Thailand Water levels Real-time Recent period ★★★★☆
MERIT Hydro Global Flow directions Consistent 90 m ★★★☆☆

5.2 Lakes, Reservoirs and Wetlands

Dataset Use Recommendation
Royal Irrigation Department Reservoir operations ★★★★★
JRC Global Surface Water Water occurrence ★★★★☆

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
Land Development Department (LDD) Thailand Provincial maps Primary Detailed agricultural classes Update by province ★★★★★
ESA WorldCover Global 10 m Detail Consistent 2020–2021 ★★★★☆
SERVIR-Mekong Regional Land Cover Monitoring System Lower Mekong 30 m Time series Annual Regional ★★★☆☆

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, cassava, rubber, oil palm ★★★★☆

6.4 Typical Preprocessing

  • separate irrigated and rainfed rice, sugarcane, cassava, rubber, forest, urban

7. Meteorological Forcing

7.1 Precipitation

Dataset Coverage Resolution Temporal Resolution MIKE SHE Use Advantages Limitations Recommendation
ThaiWater (Hydro-Informatics Institute) Thailand Point Minutes to hourly Forcing Public telemetry Recent period ★★★★★
Thai Meteorological Department Thailand Point Daily Long-term Official By request ★★★★☆
CHIRPS 50°S–50°N ~5 km Daily Long-term Gauge-blended Daily ★★★★☆
GSMaP Global ~10 km Hourly Events Good in Asia Bias ★★★★☆

7.2 Climate Variables

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

7.3 Notes

  • combine long TMD records with dense recent telemetry

8. Soil Data

8.1 Dataset Comparison

Dataset Coverage Resolution MIKE SHE Use Advantages Limitations Recommendation
Land Development Department (LDD) Thailand 1:25,000 Primary Soil series properties Thai ★★★★★
SoilGrids Global 250 m Backup Gridded Less detailed ★★☆☆☆

8.2 Typical Preprocessing

  • derive parameters per soil series
  • represent paddy plough pan

9. Hydrogeology

9.1 Dataset Comparison

Dataset Coverage Use Advantages Limitations Recommendation
Department of Groundwater Resources Thailand Hydrogeological maps and well database Official Thai ★★★★★
WHYMAP Global Screening Consistent Coarse ★★☆☆☆

9.2 Conceptual Model Recommendations

  • multi-layer Bangkok aquifers with clay aquitards and compaction
  • saline groundwater in the North-east
  • alluvial fans in northern basins

10. Groundwater Data

Dataset Coverage Use Recommendation
Department of Groundwater Resources Thailand Monitoring wells and well database ★★★★★

11. Water Management

11.1 Relevant Processes

  • large irrigation projects (e.g. Greater Chao Phraya)
  • reservoirs (e.g. Bhumibol, Sirikit)
  • groundwater pumping and charges in Bangkok
  • flood diversion to retention areas

11.2 Regulatory Framework

  • Water Resources Act B.E. 2561 (2018)
  • Groundwater Act B.E. 2520 (1977) — permits and charges

11.3 Key Institutions

Topic Institution
National water policy Office of the National Water Resources
Irrigation and discharge Royal Irrigation Department
Groundwater Department of Groundwater Resources
Soils and land use Land Development Department (LDD)
Meteorology Thai Meteorological Department
Hydro-informatics ThaiWater (Hydro-Informatics Institute)

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 Royal Irrigation Department Streamflow ★★★★★
Heads Department of Groundwater Resources SZ calibration ★★★★★
Flood extent Sentinel-1 SAR Floodplain ★★★★☆
Subsidence InSAR / levelling Compaction ★★★★☆

Recommended strategy: calibrate discharge and heads together, including a major flood year.

14. Typical MIKE SHE Workflow

  1. Define modelling objective and domain.
  2. Prepare the DEM from FABDEM or national DEM.
  3. Build the river network from RID data and MERIT Hydro.
  4. Prepare land cover from LDD land use.
  5. Assign vegetation parameters, rooting depths and crop calendars.
  6. Prepare precipitation from ThaiWater, TMD and CHIRPS.
  7. Prepare climate forcing and reference ET from ERA5-Land and TMD.
  8. Prepare soil properties from LDD soil series.
  9. Build hydrogeological layers from DGR maps and well logs.
  10. Add pumping and irrigation from DGR permits.
  11. Couple rivers and groundwater.
  12. Calibrate against RID discharge and DGR heads.
  13. Validate with flood extents and ET products.
  14. Document assumptions and uncertainties.

15. Minimum Dataset Package

Model Element Dataset
DEM FABDEM
Land cover Land Development Department (LDD)
Precipitation CHIRPS
Climate ERA5-Land
Soils Land Development Department (LDD)
Hydrogeology Department of Groundwater Resources

16. Recommended Dataset Package

Model Element Dataset
DEM National DEM (request)
Precipitation ThaiWater + TMD
Discharge RID
Heads DGR

17. Premium Dataset Package

Dataset Type Possible Source Purpose
LiDAR Projects Terrain
Pumping records DGR permits Pumping stress
Irrigation operations RID Diversions

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

Thailand-specific

  • [ ] Thai-language portals accessed
  • [ ] reservoir operations obtained

20. References and Official Data Portals

National and regional sources

Global sources

21. Notes on Uncertainty

  • reservoir and irrigation operations
  • subsidence
  • saline groundwater
  • floodplain structures

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