Short communication: Multiscale topographic complexity analysis with pyTopoComplexity

Lai, Larry Syu-Heng; Booth, Adam M.; Duvall, Alison R.; Herzig, Erich

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-417-2025

Articles | Volume 13, issue 3

https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-417-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-417-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 13, issue 3

Short communication

|

03 Jun 2025

Short communication |

| 03 Jun 2025

Short communication: Multiscale topographic complexity analysis with pyTopoComplexity

Larry Syu-Heng Lai, Adam M. Booth, Alison R. Duvall, and Erich Herzig

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-417-2025-supplement

Data sets

"Stillaguamish 2014" project Washington Geological Survey http://lidarportal.dnr.wa.gov

Model code and software

pyTopoComplexity (v1.1.1) Larry Syu-Heng Lai https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11239338

Automated Landslide Mapping toolkit (ALMtools): Matlab functions and example data for mapping landslides based on surface roughness A. M. Booth https://web.pdx.edu/~boothad/tools.html

Short summary

pyTopoComplexity is an open-source Python tool for multiscale land surface complexity analysis. Applied to a landslide-affected area in Washington, USA, it accurately identified landform features at various scales, enhancing our understanding of landform recovery after disturbances. By integrating with Landlab’s landscape evolution simulations, the software allows researchers to explore how different processes drive the evolution of surface complexity in response to natural forces.