Skip to main content

GRASS GIS

Introduction to GRASS GIS​

GRASS GIS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System) is an open-source GIS software suite used for geospatial data management, analysis, and visualization. It provides powerful tools for raster and vector data processing, spatial modeling, and image analysis. GRASS GIS is widely used in research, environmental management, and urban planning.

GRASS GIS supports a wide range of geospatial data formats and integrates seamlessly with other GIS tools and libraries. It can be used both as a command-line tool and through its graphical user interface (GUI). For more details, visit the official GRASS GIS documentation.

Using GRASS GIS with Modules​

To use GRASS GIS on the terrabyte HPC system, load the GRASS GIS module with the following command:

# consider adding the module use line to your ~/.bashrc to always make terrabyte modules available 
module use /dss/dsstbyfs01/pn56su/pn56su-dss-0020/usr/share/modules/files/
module load grass

Once loaded, you can start GRASS GIS in command-line mode by typing:

grass

Starting GRASS GIS Graphically​

GRASS GIS can also be started graphically via the remote desktop on the terrabyte portal. To do this:

  1. Log in to the terrabyte portal.
  2. Open the remote desktop environment.
  3. Launch GRASS GIS by typing module load grass; grass --gui in a terminal within the remote desktop.

Usage Examples​

Example 1: Import Raster Data​

To import a raster file into a GRASS GIS database:

r.in.gdal input=input.tif output=imported_raster

Example 2: Perform Raster Analysis​

To calculate the slope and aspect of a raster elevation map:

r.slope.aspect elevation=imported_raster slope=slope_map aspect=aspect_map

Example 3: Export Raster Data​

To export a raster map to GeoTIFF format:

r.out.gdal input=slope_map output=slope_map.tif format=GTiff

For additional usage instructions and configuration details, refer to the GRASS GIS documentation.