Geoprocessing Tools: Contours, Buffer, Elevation, and Flood

Argenmap includes a built-in geoprocessing panel that lets users run spatial analysis operations against OGC Web Processing Service (WPS) endpoints. Contour generation and flood simulation are executed server-side on IGN’s GeoServer infrastructure and return results as GeoJSON or image overlays that are added directly to the map as new layers. The buffer process runs entirely in the browser using Turf.js, requiring no network call to a WPS server. To open the geoprocessing panel, click the geoprocessing button in the toolbar. Users select a process from the dropdown, draw a rectangle or polyline on the map to define the area of interest, configure any process-specific parameters, and click Ejecutar. The result is automatically added to the Geoprocesos section of the layer panel. The feature is enabled or disabled globally with geoprocessing.isActive in preferences.json.

Available Processes

1. Contour Lines (`contour`)

Generates contour lines from the ALOS DEM elevation model over a user-drawn rectangle. Draw a rectangle on the map covering the area of interest — the rectangle must cover no more than 100 km². Enter the contour interval (equidistance) in meters, then click Ejecutar. The WPS call returns contour GeoJSON, which is styled and added as a new layer in the Geoprocesos section. The process calls IGN’s GeoServer WPS at:

https://imagenes.ign.gob.ar/geoserver/geoprocesos/ows?service=WPS&version=1.0.0

Using the layer alos_unificado. Configurable styles (applied only to the contour process):

styles.line_color

string

Hex color for regular contour lines. Default: #e0b44c.

styles.line_weight

number

Stroke width in pixels for regular contour lines. Default: 0.8.

styles.d_line_m

number

Interval in meters between index (directrix) contours. Default: 500.

styles.d_line_color

string

Hex color for index contour lines. Default: #967529.

styles.d_weigth

number

Stroke width in pixels for index contour lines. Default: 1. Note: the field name is d_weigth (source spelling) in preferences.json.

styles.smoothFactor

number

Leaflet smoothFactor applied to the contour polyline layer. Higher values produce smoother but less accurate lines. Default: 1.7.

2. Flood Simulation / Cota (`waterRise`)

Simulates water level rise over an area. This process requires a Contour Lines layer to already exist on the map — users select one from the Capa dropdown, then use the slider to choose a water elevation level. The WPS returns a raster image overlay showing the flooded area at the selected elevation. WPS endpoint:

https://imagenes.ign.gob.ar/geoserver/ows?service=WPS&version=1.0.0

Using the layer geoprocesos:alos_unificado. The styles object defined for contour does not apply to this process. No styles block is configured for waterRise in availableProcesses.

3. Buffer / Influence Area (`buffer`)

Generates a buffer polygon around the features of an active layer within a user-drawn selection rectangle. The buffer distance is entered in meters; the selection rectangle may cover up to 1,000 km². This process runs entirely client-side using Turf.js — no WPS endpoint is required. For layers loaded from local files, Argenmap calls turf.buffer() directly on the GeoJSON features that intersect the drawn rectangle. For WMS layers with a remote host, Argenmap first fetches the features via WFS, then applies the buffer calculation in the browser with Turf.js. No baseUrl is configured for this process in availableProcesses since it requires no server call.

4. Elevation Profile (`elevationProfile`)

Draws a cross-section elevation chart along a user-drawn polyline. Draw a polyline on the map, select it from the Capa dropdown, and execute to generate an elevation profile chart. No baseUrl is configured for this process in availableProcesses.

Configuration Reference

The full geoprocessing block in preferences.json controls all aspects of the panel:

{
  "geoprocessing": {
    "isActive": true,
    "buttonTitle": "Geoprocesos",
    "buttonIcon": "fa fa-cog",
    "dialogTitle": "Geoprocesos",
    "strings": {
      "bounds": "Areas a procesar"
    },
    "availableProcesses": [
      {
        "name": "Curvas de Nivel",
        "geoprocess": "contour",
        "baseUrl": "https://imagenes.ign.gob.ar/geoserver/geoprocesos/ows?service=WPS&version=1.0.0",
        "layer": "alos_unificado",
        "namePrefix": "curvas_de_nivel_",
        "styles": {
          "line_color": "#e0b44c",
          "line_weight": 0.8,
          "d_line_m": 500,
          "d_line_color": "#967529",
          "d_weigth": 1,
          "smoothFactor": 1.7
        }
      },
      {
        "name": "Cota",
        "geoprocess": "waterRise",
        "namePrefix": "cota_",
        "layer": "geoprocesos:alos_unificado",
        "baseUrl": "https://imagenes.ign.gob.ar/geoserver/ows?service=WPS&version=1.0.0"
      },
      {
        "name": "Área de influencia",
        "geoprocess": "buffer",
        "namePrefix": "area_de_influencia_"
      },
      {
        "name": "Perfil de Elevación",
        "geoprocess": "elevationProfile",
        "namePrefix": "profile_"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Top-level fields in the geoprocessing object:

geoprocessing.isActive

boolean

required

Enables or disables the entire geoprocessing feature. When false, the geoprocessing button does not appear in the toolbar.

geoprocessing.buttonTitle

string

Tooltip text shown on the geoprocessing toolbar button.

geoprocessing.buttonIcon

string

Font Awesome class for the toolbar button icon (e.g. "fa fa-cog").

geoprocessing.dialogTitle

string

Title shown at the top of the geoprocessing modal dialog.

geoprocessing.strings.bounds

string

Label displayed above the area-selection drawing instructions inside the modal. Default: "Areas a procesar".

Fields within each entry in availableProcesses[]:

availableProcesses[].name

string

required

Human-readable name shown in the process selector dropdown.

availableProcesses[].geoprocess

string

required

Internal process identifier. Must be one of: "contour", "waterRise", "buffer", "elevationProfile".

availableProcesses[].baseUrl

string

Full WPS endpoint URL including service=WPS&version=1.0.0 parameters. Required for contour and waterRise. Not used for buffer (client-side) or elevationProfile.

availableProcesses[].layer

string

Name of the DEM or raster layer on the WPS server to use as input data. Required for contour and waterRise.

availableProcesses[].namePrefix

string

Prefix string prepended to result layer names in the panel (e.g. "curvas_de_nivel_").

availableProcesses[].styles

object

Style overrides for the result layer. Only applicable to the contour process. No other processes use this field.

The Contour Lines and Flood Simulation processes send requests to IGN’s GeoServer instances at imagenes.ign.gob.ar. These operations require an active internet connection and that the IGN WPS servers are reachable from the user’s network.

WPS response times for contour generation depend on the size of the selected rectangle. Draw the smallest rectangle that covers your area of interest — keeping it well under the 100 km² limit — to get results in a few seconds rather than waiting for a large area to be processed.

Get Started

Configuration

Features

Contributing

Geoprocessing Tools: Contours, Buffer, Elevation, and Flood

Available Processes

1. Contour Lines (`contour`)

2. Flood Simulation / Cota (`waterRise`)

3. Buffer / Influence Area (`buffer`)

4. Elevation Profile (`elevationProfile`)

Configuration Reference

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Configuration

Features

Contributing

Documentation Index

​Available Processes

​1. Contour Lines (contour)

​2. Flood Simulation / Cota (waterRise)

​3. Buffer / Influence Area (buffer)

​4. Elevation Profile (elevationProfile)

​Configuration Reference

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Available Processes

1. Contour Lines (`contour`)

2. Flood Simulation / Cota (`waterRise`)

3. Buffer / Influence Area (`buffer`)

4. Elevation Profile (`elevationProfile`)

Configuration Reference