LSDTopoTools3
LSDTopoTools3 (lsdtt3) is a C++17 library and set of command-line tools for topographic analysis of digital elevation models (DEMs). It also includes two basic landscape evolution models (lems, once is minimalistic, one has a few extra bells and whistles), tools for analysis of cosmogenic radionuclides (CRNs), a simple flooding model and two hydrologic models, and tools for downloading both DEMs and lithologic data. It is a ground-up redesign of LSDTopoTools2, with faster algorithms and performance enhancements, built-in handling of a wide range of raster and vector data formats, python bindings and an API, a QGIS plugin, and a rigorous testing regime that includes benchmarking against similar software packages. Basically it improves every component of LSDTopoTools2. We hope you like it!
Quick links
| I want to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Understand what lsdtt3 does | Overview |
| Install lsdtt3 | Installation — Linux, Windows, macOS, Colab |
| Install on Windows | Windows via WSL2 |
| Install on macOS | macOS |
| Run it in a browser | Google Colab |
| Look up parameters for a tool | Command-line reference |
| Compile the latest code (DO NOT do this unless you are a developer) | Building from source |
| Contribute or modify the code | Developer notes |
Some of the capabilities at a glance
DEM preparation — reproject, fill, breach depressions, clip to valid extent.
Surface analysis — hillshade, curvature, roughness, local relief, Frangi filter, cloth-drape incision depth.
Flow routing — D8, D-infinity, and MFD routing; topographic wetness index; 64-bit pixel indexing for very large DEMs.
Channel networks — channel extraction, junction networks, Strahler ordering; export to CSV, GeoPackage, or FlatGeobuf.
Basin analysis — basin delineation, hydromorphic statistics, chi analysis and k_sn inversion.
Cosmogenic nuclides — basin-averaged CRN erosion rates, concentration prediction, 1-D transient column simulation.
Landscape evolution — implicit stream-power incision, linear and nonlinear hillslope transport, uniform uplift, and more exotic configurations.
Citing lsdtt3
If you use lsdtt3 in research, please cite it:
Mudd, S. M., Vervoordeldonk, R., Gailleton, B., Hawksworth, M. E., Clubb, F. J., Grieve, S. W. D., Milodowski, D. T., Valters, D., & Hurst, M. D. (2026). LSDTopoTools3 (lsdtt3): topographic analysis for geomorphology. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24110423
Please also cite the original LSDTopoTools2:
Mudd, S. M., Clubb, F. J., Grieve, S. W. D., Milodowski, D. T., Gailleton, B., Hurst, M. D., Valters, D. V., Wickert, A. D., & Hutton, E. W. H. (2023). LSDtopotools/LSDTopoTools2: LSDTopoTools2 v0.9. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8076231
Copyright: Simon M. Mudd | Licence: AGPL-3.0-or-later