AERMET Hands-on Course #423 Day 2 Morning

AERMET Hands-on Course #423 Day 2 Morning
Air Pollution Dispersion Models: Applications with the AERMOD Modeling System AERMET Hands-on Course #423 Day 2 Morning

Day 2 Morning: AERMET Hands-On

Learning Objectives At the end of this session, you will understand:
AERMET’s three-stage processing The input for each stage How to run each of AERMET’s stages How to interpret the results

AERMET Processing AERMET processes data in three stages
Stage 1: extract data from archive format and QA data Stage 2: combine data into 1-day blocks (merge data) Stage 3: perform calculations and output results for AERMOD Each stage is run separately Originally, when the computing power of personal computers was limited, processing data with AERMET was divided into three distinct runs using two different executables. In addition to the computer limitations, the idea was to have the user review the results after each stage was run. Later, EPA combined the two executables into a single executable, but each of the three stages still must be run separately. The user should/must still review the output (at least the messages in the first two stages) to verify the results ‘make sense’ and there are no anomalous values being delivered to AERMOD.

Geographical Setting - Martins Creek
The Martins Creek Steam Electric Station is on the Delaware River, in the red circle, at the location identified as MC SES. The meteorological data are the 10-m tower west southwest of the facility and the sodar southwest of the facility (in the red ellipse). The town of Belvidere, NJ is in the upper right of this figure. Note the steep ridge on the opposite side of the river, in New Jersey. It is on this ridge that additional 10-m towers were erected, but since the area is not representative of conditions in the valley, they were not used in the modeling. Also on this ridge are seven SO2 monitors/receptor locations. As we noted in the introduction, the hands on is based on the Martins Creek independent evaluation database. The region is a rural area on the Pennsylvania – New Jersey border, about 95 km north of Philadelphia, PA and 35 km northeast of Allentown, PA. It is in the Delaware River valley with elevated terrain on both sides of the valley; Scotts Mtn to the east rises about m above the valley; the ridge to the west and north rises about m above the valley. The field study was conducted in May 1992 – May 1993 with multiple meteorological towers and monitors. However, we are modeling 2011/2012 to use current data products and the dates have been modified to reflect these years.

Meteorological Setting
Field study with multiple meteorological towers and monitors A single level of data from a 10-meter tower and 12 levels of data from a nearby sodar are combined to create a single file of profile (‘tower’) data Is combining the two sources of data ok to do? Close proximity to each other, about 1 km apart Similar base elevation For the original Martins Creek evaluation, meteorological data was collected from multiple towers and sodar. Ultimately, a single level of data from only one of the meteorological towers was combined with 12 levels of data from a nearby sodar to create a single profile of data. Is it ok to combine the two sets of data? Close proximity to each other – maybe up to a kilometer apart Similar base elevation – both in the Delaware River valley These two data sets are good candidates to combine for an evaluation of a model. However, to propose combining data for a regulatory application would require approval from regulatory authorities, such as a state’s environmental authority and EPA regional modeler (depending on the application). Could 10-meter towers on the ridge across the river be used OR a 10-meter tower in another drainage valley be used? Probably not since the data are not representative of the meteorological conditions in the valley.

Hands-on Activity Two AERMET scenarios 1-year (5/1/2011 – 4/30/2012)
Martins Creek site-specific (created from data for hands-on purposes) NWS ISHD Surface Data 1-minute ASOS Wind Data (from AERMINUTE) NWS upper air 5-year (1/1/2008 – 12/31/2012) The AERMET hands-on activity will require you to perform two separate AERMET applications or scenarios using the data processed with AERSURFACE and AERMINUTE. The first scenario, which is the primary focus of these presentation slides, will generate a single year of AERMOD-ready meteorological data using the site-specific meteorological data collected for the Martins Creek evaluation. The time span will run from 5/1/2011 through 4/30/ You will notice that this time span does not coincide with the Martins Creek site-specific data. The site-specific data used in this activity have been fabricated from the Martins Creek data , for demonstration purposes, by altering the year in the data file so that more recent NWS data products can be used to complete these activities. This 1-year AERMET application will also use upper air sounding data that can be downloaded from the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration’s (NOAA’s) Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) website; hourly surface observations obtained from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) from the Integrated Surface Hourly Dataset (ISHD) – or ISH format – and hourly averaged wind data previously processed with AERMINUTE. The second scenario will generate 5 years ( ) of AERMOD-ready meteorological data without the use of site-specific data.

APTI423\Hands-on\AERMET\
AERMET – Files The program executable needed to complete this hands-on activity can be found in the following directory: APTI423\Hands-on\AERMET\ aermet.exe Develop data for two scenarios 1 year with ONSITE data APTI423\Hands-on\AERMET\1-yr_Onsite\ 5 years with NWS data only APTI423\Hands-on\AERMET\5-yr_NWS\ The files needed to complete the AERMET hands-on activity should be found in the subfolder “APTI423\Hands-on\AERMET\.” There, you will find the AERMET program executable (aermet.exe) and subfolders containing the files needed to run AERMET for the two scenarios – the 1-year and the 5-year. Surface characteristics were developed for both scenarios since we will be supplementing missing site-specific wind data with airport data when we run AERMET for the 1-year scenario. The 5-year scenario which uses only NWS observations uses the site characteristics derived for the airport (KABE) only.

AERMET – Files Input files for 1-year scenario Reference output files
1-yr_Onsite\MC_ST1.INP: Stage 1 control file 1-yr_Onsite\MC_ST2.INP: Stage 2 control file 1-yr_Onsite\MC_ST3.INP: Stage 3 control file 1-yr_Onsite\MCOSPFL_11-12.DAT: onsite observations 1-yr_Onsite\RunMC.BAT: batch file that runs all 3 stages Reference output files 1-yr_Onsite\Complete_Run\ In the 1-yr_Onsite\ subfolder, there are three control files with the “.inp” file extension to run each stage independently. These are partially completed templates that will need to be completed prior to running AERMET. Also in this folder are the necessary onsite (site-specific) data. We will download the NWS surface and upper air data needed to run AERMET for the 1-year scenario. There is a separate folder named “Complete_Run” in which the output files generated during the development of this activity are stored for reference.

AERMET – Files Input files for 5-year scenario Reference output files
5-yr_NWS\MC_ST1.INP: Stage 1 input 5-yr_NWS\MC_ST2.INP: Stage 2 input 5-yr_NWS\MC_ST3.INP: Stage 3 input 5-yr_NWS\RunMC.BAT: batch file that runs all 3 stages Reference output files 5-yr_NWS\Complete_Run\ In the 5-yr_NWS\ subfolder, there are three control files with the “.inp” file extension to run each stage independently. These are partially completed templates that will need to be completed prior to running AERMET. Also in this folder are the necessary onsite (site-specific) data. We will download the remainder of the NWS surface and upper air data needed to run AERMET for the 5-year scenario. There is a separate folder named “Complete_Run” in which the output files generated during the development of this activity are stored for reference.

AERMET – Hourly Observations
Hourly Surface Observations Download the data from Click on the Quick Link for Integrated Surface Data, hourly, Global Click on ISD FTP Access Click on the year of interest, first 2011 Locating the file for Allentown/Bethlehem, PA (WMO number 14737) requires a bit of a hunt – the browser’s search capability may be the best option Click on the filename and follow the browser’s instructions to save the file Save the file in APTI423\ Hands-on\AERMET\1-yr_Onsite Repeat the process for 2012 Combine/Concatenate the individual files into a single file Before proceeding with the hands-on, we will download some of the NWS files required for the AERMET hands-on. These slides provides instructions for obtaining the data from the NCDC (hourly observations) and NOAA (upper air) websites. However, if you find that you get stuck or cannot complete the exercise in the time allotted, data for this hands-on activity are provided in the hands-on package. Once the two files are downloaded, you will need to concatenate them, i.e., combine them into a single file. There are multiple ways to accomplish this. Perhaps the simpler method is use the copy command within a Windows command prompt. In the directory where the files were downloaded, type: copy file1 + file2 newfile This can also be accomplished using a Windows text editor by using copy/paste functionality to paste the data from one file into the other file. Just be sure not to introduce any erroneous characters (spaces or blank lines).

AERMET – Hourly Observations
Hourly Surface Observations - alternative method Download the data from the ftp site ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/noaa/ using an ftp client or file manager For a file manager, click on the folder corresponding to the year of interest, i.e., 2011 Right click on the file of interest – depending on the capabilities of the file manager, this may be easy or hard Save the file in APTI423\Hands-on\AERMET\1-yr_Onsite Repeat the process for 2012 In Windows Explorer 7, entering the term in the search box in the upper right does little. By placing a question mark before the identifier, i.e., ?14737, the file for Allentown/Bethlehem is found. Once the file is located, if you are using Windows Explorer 7, you can right click on the file and ‘Copy to Folder’ which opens a save file dialog box or ‘Copy’, in which case you can navigate to the folder and the ‘Paste’ the file.

AERMET – Upper Air Upper Air Soundings Click on Continue Data Request
Download all 5 years from Input Dates (UTC units): From: January 1, 2008, 00Z To: December 31, 2012, 23Z Sounding Specific Information: Hours of Access: All times Data Levels: All levels Wind Units: knots or tenths of meters per second (either is ok) Select Stations / Data Select Radiosonde Sites by: WBAN Station Identifier Click on Continue Data Request The input on the website is very straightforward. Complete each field (note that some are filled in and may require changing), and click continue. The ESRL website allows you to enter a date/time range and will generate a single file that spans the entire range specified. Since we are going to need 5 years of upper data for the 5-year scenario, we will go ahead and download all 5 years in a single file. This file will be reused in the 5-year scenario. NOTE: Be sure to download all levels (the default). Downloading only the mandatory levels may result in mixing heights that are too low or too high since there is not enough vertical resolution with just mandatory levels.

AERMET – Upper Air Click on Continue Data Access Select Stations:
Use option 2 to enter the WBAN station identifier: 54775 Select Output Options: Sort Order: Station Series Sort Format: FSL format (ASCII text) Click on Continue Data Access The data will appear in your browser window – save the data to a file in the folder APTI423\Hands-on\AERMET\1-yr_Onsite

Stage 1

Stage 1 – Control File Parameters
Hourly Surface Observations Data format: Integrated Surface Hourly Station Identifier: 14737 Latitude/longitude: 40.65N, 75.43W, Eastern time zone Dates to process: May 1, 2011 – April 30, 2012 Upper Air Soundings Data format: FSL Station Identifier: 54775 Latitude/longitude: 42.75N, 73.80W, Eastern time zone Site-specific (On-site) Data Data format: user-specified Station Identifier: user’s choice Latitude/longitude: 40.79N, 75.14W, local time Dates to extract: May 1, 2011 – April 30, 2012 Anemometer starting threshold speed: 0.3 m/s Shown here are the input parameters that are needed to complete the AERMET Stage 1 control file. You will need to have this information in front of you.

Filenames with spaces should be enclosed with double quotes
Stage 1 – Control File MCR_ST1.INP JOB pathway Keywords MESSAGES: output file where all messages are written REPORT: output file that summarizes the run JOB MESSAGES REPORT Filenames with spaces should be enclosed with double quotes Here is displayed the JOB pathway of the Stage 1 control file (MCR_ST1.INP). MESSAGES keyword: All messages - error, warning, informational - generated by AERMET are written to this file. REPORT keyword: This keyword is optional; a report would be generated on your computer screen. The REPORT file contains a summary of the various messages plus information on the files and data processed. CAUTION: Some people use the extension “.msg” for the message file and is used extensively in the AERMET/AERMOD databases; the extension .”msg” is also used by Microsoft Outlook and it is not unusual to double click on a file with the “.msg” extension thinking it will open in a text editor but you get a message that Microsoft’s Outlook cannot open the file. This is the reason why the extension “.mes” is used in our hands-on. Do the extensions in the control file here and throughout all the hands-on examples carry a “magical” meaning? No, use whatever has meaning for you.

Stage 1 – Control File NWS hourly observations – SURFACE pathway
Keywords DATA: raw ISH data EXTRACT: observations retrieved from ISH data QAOUT: output from qa processing LOCATION: station id, latitude/longitude, zone XDATES: dates to retrieve SURFACE ** Surface data for Allentown-Beth-Easton, PA DATA EXTRACT QAOUT LOCATION XDATES TO This is the SURFACE path for the Stage 1 control file. Important point: the ISHD format MUST be the full format and NOT the abbreviated format. Note the asterisks (**); this lets AERMET know that this record is a comment and is not processed Input and output names follow typical Windows naming conventions: Can include the file path name; Use quotation marks if there is one or more embedded spaces DATA keyword: Be sure to specify the correct format type, otherwise AERMET will not be able to process the data. EXTRACT keyword: This is the name of the file that AERMET creates when extracting data from the file identified on the DATA keyword. QAOUT keyword: This is the name of the file that AERMET creates when QA’ing the extracted data. If you want to skip data QA, omit this keyword. Looking ahead, what would be the name of the file to use with the QAOUT keyword when merging hourly weather observations in Stage 2 if you do QA the data here? If you do not QA the data here?

Stage 1 – Control File NWS hourly observations – UPPERAIR pathway
Keywords DATA: raw FSL data EXTRACT: observations retrieved from FSL data QAOUT: output from QA processing LOCATION: station id, latitude/longitude, zone XDATES: dates to retrieve Stage 1 UPPERAIR pathway Input and output names follow typical Windows naming conventions: Can include the file path name Use quotation marks if there is one or more embedded spaces DATA keyword: Be sure to specify the correct format type, otherwise AERMET will not be able to process the data. There are two FLS formats – an original and more recent. The only difference is in the definition of the missing data indicator (32767 and 99999). EXTRACT keyword: This is the name of the file that AERMET creates when extracting data from the file identified on the DATA keyword. QAOUT keyword: This is the name of the file that AERMET creates when QA’ing the extracted data. If you want to skip data QA, omit this keyword. LOCATION keyword: Order of latitude and longitude not important, but must have E/W and N/W appended; FSL data requires the correct specification of the time zone adjustment since it is reported in GMT time. XDATES keyword: Format is YEAR / MONTH / DAY; The year can be entered as either 4 digits or 2 digits; here it is four digits. Compare this to the SURFACE pathway. UPPERAIR ** Upper air data for Albany, NY DATA EXTRACT QAOUT LOCATION XDATES TO

Stage 1 – Control File NWS hourly observations – ONSITE pathway
Keywords DATA: raw FSL data LOCATION: station id, latitude/longitude, zone QAOUT: output from QA processing XDATES: dates to retrieve READ: variables, by record, to read FORMAT: format, by record THRESHOLD: starting threshold of anemometer RANGE: modifies default bounds and missing indicator AUDIT: adds additional variables to report NO_MISSING: do not report if data are missing Site-specific data has no consistent archival format. You have to specify the variable names and format of the data for AERMET. This is not the simplest of tasks, so the variable names and format are specified for you on the following slide. You will, however, have to specify general information about the site, similar to what you did for the hourly observations and upper air soundings. In addition you will need to specify the anemometer starting threshold speed. Stage 1 ONSITE pathway Notice that many of these keywords are identical to those in the SURFACE and UPPERAIR pathways, but the EXTRACT keyword is NOT present. Unlike SURFACE and UPPERAIR data, the site-specific data are not in an archive format. The format is whatever format in which the data are stored and input to AERMET, though the data must be stored as ASCII text. Keywords that MAY not be needed are shown in green If there are no changes required to the default upper and lower bounds and the missing data indicator, there is no need for the RANGE keyword; Use the AUDIT keyword to QA additional parameters beyond the default set; the default set can be found in the user’s guide; NO_MISSING can be omitted if there are not many hours with missing data; otherwise this keyword can keep the size of the message file to a more manageable size.

Stage 1 – Martins Creek Data
Site-specific observations – ONSITE pathway – sample data READ OSYR OSMO OSDY OSHR READ HT01 WD01 WS01 SA01 TT01 READ HT02 WD02 WS02 READ HT03 WD03 WS03 READ HT04 WD04 WS04 READ HT05 WD05 WS05 READ HT06 WD06 WS06 READ HT07 WD07 WS07 READ HT08 WD08 WS08 READ HT09 WD09 WS09 READ HT10 WD10 WS10 READ HT11 WD11 WS11 READ HT12 WD12 WS12 READ HT13 WD13 WS13 Stage 1 ONSITE pathway On this slide we have one hour of site-specific observations in the left-hand text box and the variable names (from the earlier slide) in the right-hand text box. The first 2 lines on the left side are not part of the actual data file, but are added here to make it easier to identify column numbers. Things to note about the data: On the first data record there are five values, but the READ and FORMAT statements only process four values. The last value on that record is the Julian day. There is no variable name for Julian day in the list of AERMET onsite variables, so it cannot be used, and is skipped. If values at the end of a record are not needed, they do not have to be included in the list of variable names. If a variable such as the Julian day were to occur in the middle of the record, the field could be easily skipped using the ‘X’ format specifier (e.g., 4X). Most of the real-valued numbers have 0’s after the decimal point. Are any or all necessary? No, as long as the length of each field remains 10. If they were omitted and the field lengths became shorter (i.e., less than 10), the data would not be read correctly, unless the FORMAT statement is adjusted as well. On the second record, the value for SA at level 1 (SA01) is missing ( ) as are the wind direction and wind speed at the uppermost level (420 meters).

Stage 1 – Control File Site-specific observations – ONSITE pathway
** Site-specific data for Martin's Creek DATA LOCATION XDATES QAOUT READ OSYR OSMO OSDY OSHR READ HT01 WD01 WS01 SA01 TT01 READ HT02 WD02 WS02 READ HT03 WD03 WS03 READ HT04 WD04 WS04 READ HT05 WD05 WS05 READ HT06 WD06 WS06 READ HT07 WD07 WS07 READ HT08 WD08 WS08 READ HT09 WD09 WS09 READ HT10 WD10 WS10 READ HT11 WD11 WS11 READ HT12 WD12 WS12 READ HT13 WD13 WS13 FORMAT ( 2X,I2,I4,I4,I4 ) FORMAT ( 5F10.4 ) FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) Stage 1 ONSITE pathway (cont’d) Again, notice that both upper and lower case are allowed and can be mixed together. For comparison, the READ and FORMAT keywords are shown next to each other. This structure cannot be processed by AERMET. All the FORMAT records can follow or precede the READ records or they can be intermixed, i.e., a READ record followed by a FORMAT record for all levels of data. The first 4 records are the same as were seen for the SURFACE and UPPERAIR pathways. And to mix things up, we use both a 2-digit and 4-digit year with the XDATES keyword. Site-specific data normally do not have a site ID associated with it. The site ID on the LOCATION keyword record is one that is made up by the user. It can be any NUMERIC value up to 8 characters. The READ and FORMAT keywords are trickier keywords. In the control file, the FORMAT keywords would likely follow the READ keywords, but we show them side by side to see how they relate to each other. In reality, all the FORMAT records could come before the READ records or they could alternate (READ, FORMAT, READ, FORMAT, etc.) and AERMET would correctly process the data.

Stage 1 – Control File Site-specific observations – ONSITE pathway
THRESHOLD RANGE tt <= RANGE ws < RANGE wd <= RANGE sa <= AUDIT sa NO_MISSING TT02,TT03,TT04,TT05,TT06,TT07,TT08, TT09 NO_MISSING TT10,TT11,TT12,TT13,TT14, SA01 Stage 1 ONSITE pathway (cont’d) Here and on previous slides, there is a mix of upper an lower case. AERMET first converts all text to upper case before processing control file records, not only for the ONSITE pathway but for all pathways and keywords. Change the ranges if you like, but do not change the missing indicators on the RANGE keyword, otherwise you might get some very strange results out of AERMET (try it and see after we have completed running AERMET). Why do we have NO_MISSING for TT02 – TT14? If you look back at the slide with the READ statements, you will see that only the first level (2nd record) has temperature (TT01) but none of the rest have a temperature measurement. Due to the way it is coded, AERMET interprets this to mean the temperature at levels 2-14 are missing when AERMET performs its QA. This results in well over an additional 100,000 QA messages in the message file. Therefore, limiting the messages using the NO_MISSING keyword will shorten the resulting file length.

Running AERMET Stage 1 To run Stage 1 for the Martins Creek 1-year scenario using the site-specific data: Open a command prompt and set the working directory as the directory where the control file is located, e.g., APTI423\Hands-on\AERMET\1-yr_Onsite Copy the Stage 1 control file, MCR_ST1.INP, to “aermet.inp” Start AERMET by typing “..\aermet” at the command prompt, then hit “Enter” AERMET requires the input control file to be named AERMET.INP (not case sensitive in a Windows environment). It is recommended that you save the original control file to some more meaningful unique filename - there is less risk of accidentally overwriting an existing control file. Prior to running AERMET, copy the file to AERMET.INP. Do the input data files indentified in the control file have to reside in the same folder as the control file? No, as long as the path is included for each file identified in the control file. If relative paths are used, they should be relative to the location of the control file. Note: Assuming that AERMET.INP and AERMET.EXE are both in the same folder, running AERMET then is as simple as double-clicking on the executable AERMET.EXE (in Windows). This is true for the other programs we have discussed as well. Can the executable be in a different folder? Yes, but you will not be able to use the simple double-click method. Outside of a third party interface, AERMET is generally run in one of two ways: 1) manually at the command prompt or 2) using a batch file. Where will the output files be written? Any auto-generated output files that are not specified in the control file will be created in the working directory. We will use a command prompt to run each stage for this hands-on activity. Later we will show a batch file that will run all three stages consecutively. To Run AERMET, follow the instructions provided on the slide.

AERMET Stage 1 - Output JOB UPPERAIR, SURFACE, ONSITE Messages
Summary report UPPERAIR, SURFACE, ONSITE Output from data extraction and QA AERMET runs very quickly – extracting and QA’ing one year of NWS hourly observations, upper air soundings and site-specific data takes less than a minute on today’s personal computers. When AERMET is running, the progress is displayed for each type of data being processed – the stage, process (extract or QA), and date are displayed. At the end of the run, AERMET reports if it finished successfully or un-successfully and lets the user know what the report filename is. Once complete, the user should review the report and message file. The actual data files are also available for review. The upper air and site-specific files are easily understood. However, the hourly weather observations are more difficult to review due to the number of variables processed and the data structure. We will look at that file a little later. On the slides that follow, we will examine the various output files from Stage 1.

Stage 1 - Message File MCR_ST1.MES Stage 1 Message File (MCR_ST1.MES)
1 ONSITE W51 LOCCRD : NO ONSITE elevation specified on LOCATION keyword, default of 0m assumed; 2 ONSITE W51 LOCCRD : Recommend specifying station elevation. JOB I19 SETUP : "END OF FILE" ON UNIT 5 AFTER RECORD # 71 JOB I27 OSTEST : Minimum and maximum ONSITE height level indices derived from data file are: UPPERAIR I30 UAEXT : **** UPPER AIR EXTRACTION **** UPPERAIR I39 GETFSL : END-OF DATA WINDOW ENCOUNTERED UPPERAIR I39 UAEXT : 732 SOUNDINGS EXTRACTED UPPERAIR CLM UAQASM : CALM WINDS FOR HR 07 AT LEVEL 1 UPPERAIR CLM UAQASM : CALM WINDS FOR HR 07 AT LEVEL 1 . UPPERAIR CLM UAQASM : CALM WINDS FOR HR 07 AT LEVEL 1 UPPERAIR Q36 UAQASM : COULD NOT RECOMPUTE HTS. FOR HR 19 UPPERAIR CLM UAQASM : CALM WINDS FOR HR 07 AT LEVEL 1 UPPERAIR I39 UAQASM : EOF AFTER UPPERAIR SOUNDING # 732 SURFACE I40 SFEXT : *** SURFACE OBSERVATION EXTRACTION *** SURFACE W46 RDISHD : NO SURFACE elevation on LOCATION keyword, but elevation from ISHD file = m; 2 SURFACE W46 RDISHD : Recommend specifying elevation on the LOCATION keyword SURFACE I41 FNDCOMDT: ASOS commission date FOUND for WBAN = ; CALL4 = KABE; CALL3 = ABE; CommDate = SURFACE I49 RDISHD : End of extract window after record: SURFACE I49 RDISHD : The # of extracted records is: SURFACE W48 RDISHD : The # of discarded records is: See 'Discarded_ISHD_Records.dat' file. SURFACE W48 RDISHD : The # of records flagged as calm is: SURFACE W48 RDISHD : The # of records flagged as variable is: SURFACE I49 SFQATM : End of file after data record: SURFACE I49 SFEXT : SURFACE records extracted SURFACE I48 SFEXT : # ASOS wind data records based on commission date: SURFACE CLM SFQASM : CALM WINDS FOR HR 22 SURFACE CLM SFQASM : CALM WINDS FOR HR 24 SURFACE Q49 SFQASM : WDIR MISSING FOR HR 12 SURFACE I49 SFQASM : END OF FILE AFTER HOURLY OBS # 8773 ONSITE Q59 OSQACK : WD missing for HR: 01; LEVEL : 13 ONSITE Q59 OSQACK : WS missing for HR: 01; LEVEL : 13 ONSITE Q59 OSQACK : WD missing for HR: 03; LEVEL : 1 ONSITE Q59 OSQACK : WD missing for HR: 04; LEVEL : 1 ONSITE Q59 OSQACK : WS missing for HR: 21; LEVEL : 11 ONSITE Q59 OSQACK : WS missing for HR: 21; LEVEL : 12 ONSITE Q59 OSQACK : WS missing for HR: 21; LEVEL : 13 ONSITE Q59 OSQACK : WD missing for HR: 23; LEVEL : 1 Stage 1 Message File (MCR_ST1.MES) This slide shows several portions of the file associated with the MESSAGES keyword. At the top are some warnings about the ONSITE data’s LOCATION keyword followed by setup messages. Those messages are followed by the NWS upper air data extraction (retrieval) from the archive format and QA. We see that 732 soundings were retrieved and 732 QA’d. Since there are 366 days in a leap year and two soundings are typically launched daily, we might expect 732 soundings to be extracted from the archive. If the number is less, then there are likely missing soundings; if there are more, then more than two soundings were launched on one or more days. The first field with values such as are the date (yymmdd), followed by the pathway (UPPERAIR), a message category, the routine that generated the message, and the message itself, including the hour of the observation. For example, UPPERAIR CLM UAQASM : CALM WINDS FOR HR 07 AT LEVEL 1 indicates that calm winds were detected in UAQASM at the first level for the 07 (local time) sounding on May 10, 2011.

Stage 1 - Report File MCR_ST1.RPT Stage 1 Report File (MCR_ST1.RPT)
AERMET, A Meteorological Processor for the AERMOD Dispersion Model Version Data Processed on 7-JAN-14 at 17:00:23 Stage Page 1 ******************************************************** *** AERMET Setup Finished Successfully *** 1. Job File Names Listing of Messages: MCR_ST1.MES Summary (this file): MCR_ST1.RPT Stage 1 Report File (MCR_ST1.RPT) The file is too long to show all the content on one slide for the report file. This slide and the next several highlight the file content. Here we see the JOB pathway showing the names of the two files with the messages and the run summary.

Stage 1 - Report File, cont’d
MCR_ST1.RPT 2. Upper Air Data Site ID Latitude(deg.) Longitude(deg.) Time Adjustment N W Data Format: FSL AERMET Has Determined That Processing For This Pathway Includes: EXTRACT AND QUALITY ASSESSMENT Extract Input - OPEN: 54775_ FSL Extract Output- OPEN: ALB_ IQA QA Output OPEN: ALB_ OQA The Extract Dates Are: Starting: 1-MAY-11 Ending: 30-APR-12 Upper Air Data Above the First Level Above 5000 Meters Not Extracted Upper Air Automatic Data Checks Are: OFF Stage 1 Report File (MCR_ST1.RPT), cont’d This section shows the processing of the NWS UPPERAIR data. This is essentially the same information as entered in the control file. Based on the keywords (DATA, EXTRACT and QAOUT), AERMET concluded that extracting and QA’ing the data was to be performed. The next to last line indicate that sounding data were extracted from the archive file up to about 5000 meters. Above that height, there is little information for AERMET and AERMOD, so to keep files sizes down, AERMET limits the height of the data extracted. This is a hard-coded value and cannot be changed by the user. The last line indicates that automated data checking has been turned off. This option is controlled by the MODIFY keyword on this pathway. MODIFY will direct AERMET to perform automatic modifications to the upper air data as the data are extracted. See the AERMET presentation and User’s Manual for more information on this keyword.

MCR_ST1.RPT 3. NWS Surface Data Site ID Latitude(deg.) Longitude(deg.) Time Adjustment Elev. (m) N W Data Format: ISHD AERMET Has Determined That Processing For This Pathway Includes: EXTRACT AND QUALITY ASSESSMENT Extract Input - OPEN: 14737_ISHD.DAT Extract Output- OPEN: 14737_ IQA QA Output OPEN: 14737_ OQA The Extract Dates Are: Starting: 1-MAY-11 Ending: 30-APR-12 Stage 1 Report File (MCR_ST1.RPT), cont’d Section 3 shows the processing of the NWS SURFACE data. This is essentially the same information as entered in the control file. Note that based on the keywords, AERMET concluded that extracting and QA’ing the data was to be performed.

MCR_ST1.RPT 4. On-site Data Site ID Latitude(deg.) Longitude(deg.) Time Adjustment Elev. (m) N W AERMET Has Determined That Processing For This Pathway Includes: QUALITY ASSESSMENT ONLY Extract Output- OPEN: MCOSPFL_11-12.DAT QA Output OPEN: MCOSPFL_11-12.OQA The Extract Dates Are: Starting: 1-MAY-11 Ending: 30-APR-12 Stage 1 Report File (MCR_ST1.RPT), cont’d Section 4 shows the processing of the site-specific (ONSITE) data. This is essentially the same information as entered in the control file. Note that based on the keywords, AERMET concluded that extracting and QA’ing the data was to be performed.

MCR_ST1.RPT AERMET, A Meteorological Processor for the AERMOD Dispersion Model Version Data Processed on 7-JAN-14 at 17:00:23 Stage Page 2 ******************************************************** *** AERMET Data Processing Finished Successfully *** **** SUMMARY OF THE QA AUDIT **** THERE IS NO AUDIT TRAIL FOR SOUNDINGS SURFACE DATA |------VIOLATION SUMMARY------| |-----TEST VALUES-----| TOTAL # LOWER UPPER % MISSING LOWER UPPER # OBS MISSING BOUND BOUND ACCEPTED FLAG BOUND BOUND TMPD , , WDIR , , WSPD , , NOTE: Test values were also multiplied by the same factors applied to the data (see Appendix B of the AERMET User's Guide) In addition, for the hourly obs, AERMET reports that there are: 2075 CALM WIND CONDITIONS (WS=0, WD=0) 0 ZERO WIND SPEEDS WITH NONZERO WIND DIRECTIONS 0 DEW-POINT GREATER THAN DRY BULB TEMPERATURES The date & time of these occurrences can be found in the message file MCR_ST1.MSG with the qualifiers CLM, WDS, TDT (resp.) Stage 1 Report File (MCR_ST1.RPT), cont’d This section contains a summary of the variables QA’d and the percentage that met the QA criteria/test values. There was no QA audit of the upper air data since we did not specify any variables to QA. There are no default variables that are QA’d automatically. The summary of the surface data follows the comment about the upper air (sounding) data. Dry bulb temperature (TMPD), wind direction (WDIR), and wind speed (WSPD) were ‘audited’. Of the 8774 total observations, none exceeded an upper or lower bound, but there were some instances of missing hourly NWS temperature data. Notice that the missing flag at the right shows the missing indicators that were entered on the RANGE keywords. Similarly, the lower and upper bounds are the values entered on the RANGE keywords. If the RANGE keyword had not been used, then these ‘test values’ would have been the default values found in the AERMET User’s Guide. The hourly weather observation output (shown shortly) is written as integers. To retain one decimal digit accuracy, the temperature and wind speed are all multiplied by 10. Therefore, in this table, the upper and lower bound test values for wind speed and temperature are also multiplied by 10. Wind direction does not require this kind of accuracy, so the test values are unchanged, i.e., the multiplier is 1. The summary also shows how many calm wind conditions were encountered - the number of times there was a zero wind speed with a non-zero wind direction, and the number of times the dew point exceeded the temperature. In our hands-on data nearly 25% of the winds were reported as calm and there were no hours when the other two conditions were encountered.

MCR_ST1.RPT AERMET, A Meteorological Processor for the AERMOD Dispersion Model Version Data Processed on 7-JAN-14 at 17:00:23 Stage Page 3 ******************************************************** *** AERMET Data Processing Finished Successfully *** **** SUMMARY OF THE QA AUDIT, CONTINUED **** THERE IS NO AUDIT TRAIL FOR SITE SCALARS SITE VECTORS |------VIOLATION SUMMARY------| |-----TEST VALUES-----| TOTAL # LOWER UPPER % MISSING LOWER UPPER # OBS MISSING BOUND BOUND ACCEPTED FLAG BOUND BOUND 10.00 M SA , , TT , , WD , , WS , , 90.00 M WD , , WS , , M WD , , WS , , M WD , , WS , , M WD , , WS , , Stage 1 Report File (MCR_ST1.RPT), cont’d The slide shows only a portion of the QA audit for the site-specific data since the heights extend to 420 meters in our site-specific data. The summary indicates that for several hundred hours at every level, the winds were missing. You cannot tell if the wind speed and wind direction were jointly missing or not; you would have to examine the message file to make that determination (and whether or not it would be of any value to review the file). Remember that the 10m level was from a 10-m tower, whereas all data above 10 meters was from the sodar. Clearly there is something unusual about the wind direction and wind speed at the 10-m level. There are about 10 times the number of missing wind directions as wind speeds. The reasons for this were not investigated during the AERMOD evaluation process. Since SA (σA, or the standard deviation of the horizontal wind direction) is based on wind direction, the high number here is not unexpected in light of the number of missing wind directions.

MCR_ST1.RPT AERMET, A Meteorological Processor for the AERMOD Dispersion Model Version Data Processed on 7-JAN-14 at 17:00:23 Stage Page 4 THE FOLLOWING ON-SITE VALUES ARE IN EFFECT Number of OBS/HOUR: 1 Threshold wind speed (m/s): 0.30 Heights for tower data (m), based on HTnn fields in data file: Stage 1 Report File (MCR_ST1.RPT), cont’d This portion of the summary file provides additional information on the site-specific data: One observation per hour (remember the OBS/HOUR keyword?) Threshold wind speed of 0.30 meters/second Heights of the observations – the 10-m tower plus the sodar heights.

MCR_ST1.RPT Stage Page 5 ******************************************************** *** AERMET Data Processing Finished Successfully *** EXTRACT AND/OR QA THE METEOROLOGICAL DATA **** AERMET MESSAGE SUMMARY TABLE **** TOTAL JOB E W I UPPERAIR I Q SURFACE W I Q ONSITE W I Q Stage 1 Report File (MCR_ST1.RPT), cont’d To get the entire table on this slide, the header was removed (see previous slides). The messages are grouped by function, hence the numbering across the top and the pathway on the left side. The values represent the number or count of messages generated for that group and pathway. You may notice a pattern within the matrix of counts: the numbers apply to upper air data, to hourly surface observations, and to site-specific (onsite) data. Group numbers apply to the merge (stage 2) process and apply to the calculations (stage 3). Since the last two stages were not part of this stage 1 processing (we only extracted and QA’d), the counts are zero. The number 0-9, 10-19, and apply to the setup (pathways and keywords) in the control file. The letters E, W, I, and Q correspond to errors, warnings, informational, and QA messages. There are over 38,000 QA messages associated with the ONSITE data, mostly due to missing standard deviation of the horizontal wind direction. This bit of information indicates you probably do not want to print the message file sight unseen.

Stage 1 - Report File, concluded
MCR_ST1.RPT **** ERROR MESSAGES **** --- NONE --- **** WARNING MESSAGES **** SURFACE W46 RDISHD : NO SURFACE elevation on LOCATION keyword, but elevation from ISHD file = m; 2 SURFACE W46 RDISHD : Recommend specifying elevation on the LOCATION keyword SURFACE W48 RDISHD : The # of discarded records is: See 'Discarded_ISHD_Records.dat' file. SURFACE W48 RDISHD : The # of records flagged as calm is: SURFACE W48 RDISHD : The # of records flagged as variable is: 1 ONSITE W51 LOCCRD : NO ONSITE elevation specified on LOCATION keyword, default of 0m assumed; 2 ONSITE W51 LOCCRD : Recommend specifying station elevation. ASOS Commission Date for Surface Station (YYYYMMDD): Stage 1 Report File (MCR_ST1.RPT), cont’d The report file concludes with a list of the error and warning messages. Informational and QA messages are excluded. It also reports the ASOS commissioning date for the hourly surface observations in the event that information is needed to identify how the data are treated, for example if truncation is an issue with the data.

Stage 1 – Upper Air Output
ALB_ OQA * AERMET Version *% UPPERAIR * DATA _ FSL FSL * EXTRACT ALB_ IQA LOCATION N W 5 * XDATES /5/1 TO 2012/4/30 * QAOUT ALB_ OQA *** EOH: END OF UPPERAIR QA HEADERS Stage 1 Upper Air Output (ALB_ OQA) The output from the QA portion of Stage 1 for the upper air soundings. The first several records are the input control file records, repeated here in the output file, that instructed AERMET on processing the upper air data. It is very important not to alter these records, especially the characters in the first several columns. They either indicate that the record is a simple duplication (single asterisk, *), the pathway identifier (*%), or a record that identifies the LOCATION keyword File Structure: The first record after the record with *** EOH: indicates the data, hour and number of levels, in this case May 1, 2011 at hour 07 (local time) and there are 19 sounding records are to follow. The data records include atmospheric pressure (millibars, multiplied by 10), height (meters), temperature (degrees C, multiplied by 10), dew point temperature (degrees C, multiplied by 10), wind direction (degrees from north) and wind speed (meters/second, multiplied by 10). The record after the sounding data is for the next sounding at hour 19 (local time) and consists of 25 levels (only the first 5 are shown). In the raw archive format, the sounding heights are reported above mean sea level. AERMET converts these to above local ground level by subtracting the height of the first level above ground from all levels in the sounding. Wind direction and wind speed are never used by AERMET. Dewpoint only is used to perform a check on the sounding height during the QA process. The sounding file generated when the data are extracted from the archive looks identical except that the QAOUT record at the top is not present.

Stage 1 – Hourly Surface Obs. Output
14737_ OQA * AERMET Version *% SURFACE DATA _ISHD.DAT ISHD * EXTRACT _ IQA * QAOUT _ OQA LOCATION N W 5 * XDATES 11/5/1 TO 12/4/30 * SF SURFACE DATA QUALITY ASSESSMENT *** EOH: END OF SURFACE QA HEADERS A A A A A A A A A A . A A A A Stage 1 Surface Observations Output (14737_ OQA) The output from the QA portion of Stage 1 for the hourly surface observations is shown. The first several records are the input control file records, repeated here in the output file, that instructed AERMET on processing the hourly observations. To repeat, it is very important not to alter these records, especially the characters in the first several columns. Each hourly observation consists of two records. The hours are presented in alternating colors to help distinguish one hour to the next. As one can see, the format of the actual data is all integer values, except for the last character on the second record, which indicates if it is an automated (ASOS) observation (N=no, A=ASOS). We refer you to Appendix C of the AERMET User’s Guide for a description of each of these fields. Remember that the XDATES keyword had a start date of 5/1/ ISH data are in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and AERMET converts the data to local time. AERMET extracts/retrieves data before converting the data to local time, so the first records are actually from the last 5 hours of the previous day after the conversion is made. The same can happen at the end of the file as well. You may lose an equivalent number of hours (corresponding to the time adjustment value on the LOCATION keyword) as shown above (the last 4 hours shown). Hours are not present. One way to avoid this is to extract an extra day from the archive.

Stage 1 – Site-specific Output
14737_ OQA * AERMET Version *% ONSITE * DATA MCOSPFL_11-12.PFL LOCATION N W 0 * XDATES 11/5/ /4/30 * QAOUT MCOSPFL_11-12.OQA *$ READ OSYR OSMO OSDY OSHR *$ READ HT01 WD01 WS01 SA01 TT01 *$ READ HT02 WD02 WS02 *$ READ HT03 WD03 WS03 *$ READ HT04 WD04 WS04 *$ READ HT05 WD05 WS05 *$ READ HT06 WD06 WS06 *$ READ HT07 WD07 WS07 *$ READ HT08 WD08 WS08 *$ READ HT09 WD09 WS09 *$ READ HT10 WD10 WS10 *$ READ HT11 WD11 WS11 *$ READ HT12 WD12 WS12 *$ READ HT13 WD13 WS13 *$ FORMAT ( 2X,I2,I4,I4,I4 ) *$ FORMAT ( 5F10.4, ) *$ FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) *$ FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) *$ FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) *$ FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) *$ FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) *$ FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) *$ FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) *$ FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) *$ FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) *$ FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) *$ FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) *$ FORMAT ( 3F10.4 ) *$ THRESHOLD 0.3 *$ RANGE TT <= *$ RANGE WS < *$ RANGE WD <= *$ RANGE SA <= * AUDIT SA * NO_MISSING TT02,TT03,TT04,TT05,TT06,TT07,TT08, TT09 * NO_MISSING TT10,TT11,TT12,TT13,TT14 * OS ON-SITE QUALITY ASSESSMENT *** EOH: END OF ON-SITE QA HEADERS Stage 1 Site-specific Output (14737_ OQA) Next we look at the output from the QA portion of Stage 1 for the site-specific observations. The first 40 or so records are the input control file records, repeated here in the output file, that instructed AERMET on how to process the hourly observations. And one final warning, it is very important not to alter these records, especially the characters in the first several columns. Here we see an new combination of characters in the header records: *$. These two characters indicate that the record will be reprocessed in in subsequent processing. These records are the reason the user does not have to keep inserting the READ and FORMAT keywords in subsequent processing, i.e., Stage 2 and Stage 3.

Stage 1 – Site-specific Input
MCOSPFL_11-12.DAT Compare the site-specific output with the site-specific input file (MCOSPFL_11-12.DAT). They are pretty much identical. Note too that there are NO values multiplied by a scaling factor, such as 10, here. All values are exactly as they were read by AERMET.

Stage 2 Now, we are ready to prepare the Stage 2 control file. Go ahead and open the Stage 2 control file template in a text editor. The filename is MCR_ST2.INP.

AERMET Stage 2 – Control File
MCR_ST2.INP JOB MESSAGES REPORT UPPERAIR QAOUT SURFACE ASOS1MIN ONSITE MERGE OUTPUT XDATES QAOUT file from Stage 1. Created during AERMINUTE hands-on. Be sure to include the path where the file is located. QAOUT file from Stage 1. Stage 2 Control File (MCR_ST2.INP) We have seen the all keywords for the JOB, UPPERAIR, and ONSITE pathways. For the JOB pathway, use unique file names so as not to overwrite existing files. The files associated with the QAOUT keyword are the final output from Stage 1 processing we just reviewed. NOTE: The QAOUT keyword is optional in Stage 1, but it is required in the Stage 2 control file for each of the pathways for which there is data to be merged. If you specified QAOUT in Stage 1, then there are actually two files from which you can choose to specify for QAOUT in Stage 2, the EXTRACT file and the QAOUT file from Stage 1. However, it is recommended that you always specify QAOUT in Stage 1 and enter that filename for the QAOUT keyword in Stage 2. What if we had not QA’d the data for upper air or surface data? What keyword would be used to identify the filename? The answer is: the same keyword – QAOUT. ASOS1MIN keyword: Under the SURFACE pathway, ASOS1MIN, identifies the hourly-averaged 1-minute ASOS data. The data are located in a subfolder named AERMINUTE. If you specify a relative path, you will need to go ‘up’ two folders then ‘down’ into the AERMINUTE folder (..\..\AERMINUTE\filename). The MERGE pathway instructs AERMET to combine the data identified under the UPPAERAIR, SURFACE, and ONSITE pathways into 1-day blocks with all the data needed to estimate the boundary layer parameters in Stage 3. The OUTPUT keyword is self-explanatory, as is the XDATES keyword, although it is optional. If it is omitted, then AERMET will determine the earliest date in the input files and begin the merge process from that date. It will continue merging data for 367 days, i.e., just over one year. What happens if you have two years of data in each file to be merged and omit the XDATES keyword? You will lose about half your data in the merge file.

Running AERMET Stage 2 To run Stage 2 for the Martins Creek 1-year scenario using the site-specific data: Open a command prompt and set the working directory as the directory where the control file is located, e.g., APTI423\Hands-on\AERMET\1-yr_Onsite Copy the Stage 2 control file, MCR_ST2.INP, to “aermet.inp” Start AERMET by typing “..\aermet” at the command prompt, then hit “Enter” Stage 2 of AERMET is run in the same way Stage 1 is run. The control file must be named AERMET.INP. To run Stage 2, copy the control file, MCR_ST2.INP to AERMET.INP. If you do not still have a command prompt open, open a command prompt and set the working directory to the folder where the control file is located. At the control prompt, type: ..\aermet AERMET Stage 2 should run very quickly.

Stage 2 – MESSAGES Output
MCR_ST2.MES JOB I19 SETUP : "END OF FILE" ON UNIT 5 AFTER RECORD # 17 JOB I25 TEST : SUMMARY: NO DATA EXTRACTION FOR UPPERAIR JOB I25 TEST : SUMMARY: NO DATA QA FOR UPPERAIR JOB I26 TEST : SUMMARY: NO DATA QA FOR SURFACE JOB I27 OSTEST : Minimum and maximum ONSITE height level indices derived from data file are: JOB I27 TEST : SUMMARY: NO DATA QA FOR ONSITE 75 HEADERS PROCESSED FROM INPUT FILES MERGE W66 MERGE : 1-MIN ASOS winds from AERMINUTE Version used for WBAN: 14737; Call_ID: KABE MERGE I41 FNDCOMDT: ASOS commission date FOUND for WBAN = ; CALL4 = KABE; CALL3 = ABE; CommDate = MERGE I66 MERGE : 1-MIN ASOS WBAN: matches SURFACE WBAN: MERGE I59 OSFILL2 : EOF for ONSITE data after observation #: Stage 2 Message File (MCR_ST2.MES) The information in the ‘message’ file is short and simple. Since we are using the keyword QAOUT to identify input files for Stage 2, AERMET went through the process of determining if data were to be QA’d. It determined it did not have to QA data, hence the messages.

Stage 2 – Report File MCR_ST2.RPT Stage 2 Report File (MCR_ST2.RPT)
AERMET, A Meteorological Processor for the AERMOD Dispersion Model Version Data Processed on 7-JAN-14 at 17:00:30 Stage Page 1 ******************************************************** *** AERMET Setup Finished Successfully *** 1. Job File Names Listing of Messages: MCR_ST2.MES Summary (this file): MCR_ST2.RPT 2. Upper Air Data Site ID Latitude(deg.) Longitude(deg.) Time Adjustment N W AERMET Has Determined That Processing For This Pathway Includes: MERGE ONLY QA Output OPEN: ALB_ OQA 3. NWS Surface Data N W QA Output OPEN: 14737_ OQA 1-MIN ASOS OPEN: ../../AERMINUTE/KABE_ _1-MIN_HOUR.OUT Stage 2 Report File (MCR_ST2.RPT) Under Sections 2 and 3, AERMET is reporting that the only processing is to merge the data and shows which input files are being merged.

Stage 2 – Report File, cont’d
MCR_ST2.RPT 4. On-site Data Site ID Latitude(deg.) Longitude(deg.) Time Adjustment N W AERMET Has Determined That Processing For This Pathway Includes: MERGE ONLY QA Output OPEN: MCOSPFL_11-12.OQA 5. Merged Data Merge Output OPEN: MC_ MRG Stage 2 Report File (MCR_ST2.RPT) cont’d Section 4 reports that the only processing is to merge the data and shows which input file is being merged. Section 5 identifies the output file from Stage 2 for input to Stage 3.

MCR_ST2.RPT AERMET, A Meteorological Processor for the AERMOD Dispersion Model Version Data Processed on 7-JAN-14 at 17:00:30 Stage Page 2 Merging the Meteorological Data Merged Data Begin (Yr/Mo/Da) 11/05/01 End /04/30 ***** Daily Output Statistics ***** MO/DY: 5/ 1 5/ 2 5/ 3 5/ 4 5/ 5 5/ 6 5/ 7 5/ 8 5/ 9 5/10 NWS Upper Air Sdgs NWS Sfc Observations On-site Observations Ave 1-min ASOS Winds MO/DY: 5/11 5/12 5/13 5/14 5/15 5/16 5/17 5/18 5/19 5/20 NWS Upper Air Sdgs MO/DY: 5/21 5/22 5/23 5/24 5/25 5/26 5/27 5/28 5/29 5/30 NWS Upper Air Sdgs . TOTAL OBSERVATIONS READ: Upper Air Soundings : NWS Sfc Observations: On-site Observations: 1-min ASOS Wind Data: ***** MERGE PROCESS COMPLETED ***** Stage 2 Report File (MCR_ST2.RPT) cont’d This portion of the summary is probably the most valuable for Stage 2. In this section of the report file, the number of soundings, hourly NWS observations, hourly site-specific, and 1-minute ASOS winds (to be discussed shortly) that were merged each day. This example only shows May 1 (5/ 1) through May 30 (5/30). The report includes all days that are merged together. For the soundings, the last sounding of the previous day, the soundings for the current day (usually 2), and the first sounding of the next day are collected together in the merge file, so most often the number of soundings present for a single merged day of data is 4. Why do we merge 4 soundings? In the event a new method to estimate mixing heights becomes available that requires either a sounding from the day before or day after, AERMET would already accommodate that situation. The hourly NWS observations and hourly site-specific observations will not exceed 24, but could be less if there are missing hours. Why is the total number of observations reported as for the 1-min ASOS wind data? When we processed the 1-minute data with AERMINUTE, we included all 60 months (2008 through 2012). When we merged the data for May 1, 2011 – April 30, 2012, AERMET had to read past the first 3 years and 4 months (January 2008 – April 2011) then process the year of data (May 2011 – April 2012). The number of records READ are reported, not the number used. The other three input sources started with May 1, 2011 so there were no additional data records that were read. Since we were only using data through April 30, 2012, AERMET had no need to read 1-min ASOS data beyond April 30. Following this summary table is information on the number of observations read by data type. The numbers match the counts we saw for Stage 1.

Stage 2 – Report File, concluded
MCR_ST2.RPT AERMET, A Meteorological Processor for the AERMOD Dispersion Model Version Data Processed on 7-JAN-14 at 17:00:30 Stage Page 7 ******************************************************** *** AERMET Data Processing Finished Successfully *** **** AERMET MESSAGE SUMMARY TABLE **** TOTAL JOB E W I MERGE W I **** ERROR MESSAGES **** --- NONE --- **** WARNING MESSAGES **** MERGE W66 MERGE : 1-MIN ASOS winds from AERMINUTE Version used for WBAN: 14737; Call_ID: KABE ASOS Commission Date for 1-min ASOS Station (YYYYMMDD): Stage 2 Report File (MCR_ST2.RPT) cont’d As with the report for Stage 1, the report for Stage 2 concludes with a table summarizing the processing messages.

Stage 2 – Merged Data File
MC_ MRG Merged data file is too large to show (almost 200,000 records) Hard to determine where an hour begins and ends for NWS upper air and hourly observations Hourly site-specific data are more understandable and more easily identified in the file All the header records we saw in Stage 1 plus the control file records of Stage 2 precede the data Could be useful if trying to review and understand results after running Stage 3 Stage 2 Merged Data File (MC_ MRG) The merged data file can get very long when there are three data types for one year. The format is not the easiest to follow, either, since it was never intended to be a file to examine closely. It does, like the files from Stage 1, have the control records from all Stage 1 processing as well as the Stage 2 control file records. The only reason to review the merged data would be after running Stage 3 and there are some results that appear to be anomalous or erroneous. In that case it might be useful to locate the day and hour in question to determine what the cause might be or if the results are indeed correct.

Stage 3 Now, we will prepare the Stage 3 Control file. Go ahead and open the file MCR_ST3.INP in your text editor.

Stage 3 – Control File Parameters
Two processing options (METHOD keyword) Substitute NWS data When NWS data are substituted, randomize the wind direction Anemometer height: 7.9 meters In our hands-on, there are only a couple things you need to know to complete the control file and both are related to the METHOD keyword. If site-specific data are missing or otherwise cannot be used for the hour being processed, substitute NWS data. The AERMET addendum goes into more detail on what parameters are substituted. When a substitution takes place for winds, the wind direction should be randomized. Remember that the direction is reported to the nearest 10 degrees in the hourly observations.

Stage 3 – Control File MCR_ST3.INP JOB MESSAGES REPORT METPREP DATA
METHOD REFLEVEL METHOD WIND_DIR NWS_HGT OUTPUT PROFILE ** Site characteristics generated with AERSURFACE ** 2001 NLCD w/ Impervious and Canopy aersurf aersurf2 Path and filename of the data file generated in Stage 2 (OUTPUT). Output file with boundary layer parameters (.SFC) Stage 3 Control File (MCR_ST3.INP) We have seen the keywords associated with the JOB pathway; use unique file names to avoid overwriting existing files. The DATA file is the output from Stage 2 (merge). AERMET will process all the data found in this file. You can limit the period to process by using the XDATES keyword, if there is a need to do so. For example, maybe you have processed two or more years of data but only want to look at the results for one particular year. METHOD REFLEVEL subnws tells AERMET to substitute missing site-specific wind data with the NWS data (in this case 1-min ASOS unless missing, then ISHD). Without this keyword and parameter, no substitution would occur and any for any hour with missing site-specific wind data, and no computations would be performed. METHOD WIND_DIR random: Since we are using NWS data, we also need to randomize the wind direction IF AERMET HAS TO SUBSTITUTE FROM AN ARCHIVE DATA SET (e.g., ISH). Archived wind direction is stored in whole 10s of degrees (e.g., 10, 20, etc.). AERMET does NOT randomize the hourly averaged 1-minute winds. AERMET uses the following hierarchy, based on data availability for each hour, to select the wind data used to calculate boundary layer scaling parameters: ONSITE winds, 1-min ASOS winds; then Standard SURFACE winds. Output file with profile data (.PFL) Surface characteristics for primary site for data collection (site-specific) Surface characteristics for secondary site (NWS data).

Stage 3 – Control File MCR_ST3.INP
** Generated by AERSURFACE, Version B13111_DFT 10/30/ :38:58 ** Title 1: APTI Hands-on Activity ** Title 2: Martin's Creek, 2001 NLCD w/ Impervious and Canopy ** NLCD Version: 2001 ** Center Latitude (decimal degrees): ** Center Longitude (decimal degrees): ** Datum: NAD83 ** Non-Airport Sector IDs: All ** Anemometer Height (m): m ** IBL Factor: 6.0 ** Continuous snow cover: Y ** Surface moisture: Average; Arid: N ** Month/Season assignments: Default ** Late autumn after frost and harvest, or winter with no snow: 0 ** Winter with continuous snow on the ground: ** Transitional spring (partial green coverage, short annuals): 3 4 5 ** Midsummer with lush vegetation: 6 7 8 ** Autumn with unharvested cropland: Stage 3 Control File (MCR_ST3.INP) cont’d This slide shows the headers found in the site-specific AERSURFACE output file associated with the AERSRUF keyword. The records with the two asterisks at the beginning are the comments generated by AERSURFACE. If you opt to copy and paste the surface characteristics into the Stage 3 control file rather than use the AERSURF and AERSURF2 keywords, we recommend including the comment records so it is clear how the surface characteristics were derived.

Stage 3 – Control File MCR_ST3.INP FREQ_SECT MONTHLY 2
SECTOR SECTOR ** Month Sect Alb Bo Zo SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR SITE_CHAR Stage 3 Control File (MCR_ST3.INP) cont’d This slide shows the actual surface characteristics in MC_2001_Imp_Can.sfc as identified with the AERSURF keyword. Refresher on the meaning of the keywords FREQ_SECT keyword: FREQ_SECT defines the frequency the characteristics are specified and for how many sectors. In this case they are specified monthly for two sectors. SECTORS keyword: The two sectors are defined as 180 – 260 and 260 – 180. SITE_CHAR keyword: The surface characteristics are shown here for each month and each sector. Albedo (alb) and Bowen ratio (Bo) are non-dimensional. Roughness length (Zo) is in meters. DO NOT USE ANY OTHER UNITS for Zo, otherwise the results will be wrong. The AERMET addendum says if you use site-specific AND NWS hourly observations, then you need to use a second set of surface characteristics. Why don’t we need the second set here since we have both site-specific (ONSITE) data and NWS hourly observations? Answer: there is another condition – you also need to specify the METHOD REFLEVEL SUBNWS to substitute NWS data when the winds and/or temperature are missing from the site-specific data. Without this METHOD, there is NO substitution of site-specific data with NWS data, therefore the second set of site characteristics are not required. Specifying a second set would lead to an error condition during the Stage 3 setup phase.

Running AERMET Stage 3 To run Stage 3 for the Martins Creek 1-year scenario using the site-specific data: Open a command prompt and set the working directory as the directory where the control file is located, e.g., APTI423\Hands-on\AERMET\1-yr_Onsite Copy the Stage 3 control file, MCR_ST3.INP, to “aermet.inp” Start AERMET by typing “..\aermet” at the command prompt, then hit “Enter” Stage 3 of AERMET is run in the same way Stage 1 and 2 are run. The control file must be named AERMET.INP. To run Stage 3, copy the control file, MCR_ST3.INP to AERMET.INP. If you do not still have a command prompt open, open a command prompt and set the working directory to the folder where the control file is located. At the control prompt, type: ..\aermet AERMET Stage 3 should run very quickly.

Stage 3 – MESSAGES Output
JOB I19 SETUP : "END OF FILE" ON UNIT 5 AFTER RECORD # 48 1 ONSITE W51 LOCCRD : NO ONSITE elevation specified on LOCATION keyword, default of 0m assumed; 2 ONSITE W51 LOCCRD : Recommend specifying station elevation. JOB I27 OSTEST : Minimum and maximum ONSITE height level indices derived from data file are: METPREP I41 FNDCOMDT: ASOS commission date FOUND for WBAN = ; CALL4 = KABE; CALL3 = ABE; CommDate = METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I71 SUBST : No ref wind (NWS option was not requested) for hour: 02 METPREP I71 MPPBL : Calm conditions - No BL calculations for hour: 02 METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I71 SUBST : No ref wind (NWS option was not requested) for hour: 22 METPREP I71 MPPBL : Calm conditions - No BL calculations for hour: 22 METPREP I71 SUBST : No ref wind (NWS option was not requested) for hour: 24 METPREP I71 MPPBL : Calm conditions - No BL calculations for hour: 24 METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I71 SUBST : No ref wind (NWS option was not requested) for hour: 01 METPREP I71 MPPBL : Calm conditions - No BL calculations for hour: 01 METPREP I71 SUBST : No ref wind (NWS option was not requested) for hour: 02 METPREP I71 MPPBL : Calm conditions - No BL calculations for hour: 02 METPREP I71 SUBST : No ref wind (NWS option was not requested) for hour: 06 METPREP I71 MPPBL : Calm conditions - No BL calculations for hour: 06 .. METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP W73 MPPBL : No sounding to calculate convective parameters on Julian day: 102 METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I78 MPPBL : Sky cover is missing - no SBL estimates for hour: 20 METPREP I78 MPPBL : Sky cover is missing - no SBL estimates for hour: 21 METPREP I78 MPPBL : Sky cover is missing - no SBL estimates for hour: 22 METPREP I78 MPPBL : Sky cover is missing - no SBL estimates for hour: 23 METPREP I78 MPPBL : Sky cover is missing - no SBL estimates for hour: 24 METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z 366 METPREP I79 FETCH : EOF reached on input data file after Stage 3 Message File (MCR_ST3.MES) AERMET can generate an extensive list of messages when running Stage 3. The initial messages are a result of the control file processing (setup). Here we see that 48 records were read from the control file. Messages identical to ones that were seen in Stage 1 and Stage 2 are repeated here for station elevation, that there are 13 onsite levels, and the ASOS commissioning information. These initial messages are followed by message that are generated while the data is being processed. An informational message that is seen frequently is the sounding AERMET chose to use for that day. We also see that no reference wind was available for several hours due to calm wind conditions. Further down in the messages there is a message that there was no morning sounding (on or April 11, 2012) so no daytime parameters could be computed. Finally there are messages regarding the sky cover. Since it was missing, no estimates for the stable (nighttime) boundary layer were calculated.

Stage 3 – Report File MCR_ST3.RPT Stage 3 Report File (MCR_ST3.RPT)
AERMET, A Meteorological Processor for the AERMOD Dispersion Model Version Data Processed on 7-JAN-14 at 17:00:32 Stage Page 1 ******************************************************** *** AERMET Setup Finished Successfully *** 1. Job File Names Listing of Messages: MCR_ST3.MES Summary (this file): MCR_ST3.RPT 2. Upper Air Data Site ID Latitude(deg.) Longitude(deg.) Time Adjustment N W AERMET Has Determined That Processing For This Pathway Includes: NONE, NO DATA TO BE PROCESSED ON THIS PATH 3. NWS Surface Data Site ID Latitude(deg.) Longitude(deg.) Time Adjustment Elev. (m) N W 1-MIN ASOS USED: ../../AERMINUTE/KABE_ _1-MIN_HOUR.OUT 4. On-site Data N W Stage 3 Report File (MCR_ST3.RPT) AERMET is reporting that there is no processing (extraction or QA) of the individual data types (UPPERAIR, SURFACE, ONSITE). The data associated with these pathways are being used in the calculations but the raw/archive data are not being processed (retrieved, QA’d).

MCR_ST3.RPT AERMET, A Meteorological Processor for the AERMOD Dispersion Model Version Data Processed on 7-JAN-14 at 17:00:32 Stage Page 2 ******************************************************** *** AERMET Setup Finished Successfully *** 1. Input/Output Files MCR_ST3.RPT OPENED SUCCESSFULLY MCR_ST3.MES OPENED SUCCESSFULLY MC_ MRG OPENED SUCCESSFULLY MC_ SFC OPENED SUCCESSFULLY MC_ PFL OPENED SUCCESSFULLY 2. Dispersion Model for which Data Are Processed AERMOD 3. Processing Options Process Scheme Description WIND DIRECTION RANDOM NWS wind directions are RANDOMIZED CLOUD COVER NO_SUB Missing CCVR substitutions NOT included TEMPERATURE NOTSUB Missing TEMP substitutions NOT included SBL PROCESSING UCALST The default (Holtslag) method is used ASOS ADJUSTMENT ASOS_ADJ ASOS wind speeds, if present, ARE adjusted for truncation SDG SELECTION 00Z/12Z Sounding selection based on 12Z sdg Selection window: REFERENCE LEVEL SUBNWS NWS data ARE SUBSTITUTED for missing on-site data Anemometer height(m): 4. Locations of Meteorological Data Data Site Longitude Latitude Pathway ID (degrees) (degrees) UPPERAIR W N SURFACE W N ONSITE W N Stage 3 Report File (MCR_ST3.RPT) cont’d This portion of the report file is divided into multiple sections: 1: AERMET is reporting that all files, input and output, were successfully opened 2: The model that the data are generated for is AERMOD (a relic of a time when it was thought AERMET might be used to generate meteorological data for more than one model) 3: The options (specified explicitly or by default) used to process the data – these are important to review to be sure the data were processed according to the modeling requirements. 4: Site ID and geographic location of each station or site are reported and should match the values seen on the previous slide.

MCR_ST3.RPT 5. Primary Site Surface Characteristics from File: ..\..\AERSURFACE\MC\MC_2001_IMP_CAN.SFC User Inputs Varied by: Month Wind Sector Bowen Roughness Month Start End Albedo Ratio Length (m) Stage 3 Report File (MCR_ST3.RPT) cont’d 5: The surface characteristics used to estimate the boundary layer parameters. These characteristics correspond to the site-specific meteorological data at Martins Creek.

MCR_ST3.RPT Secondary Site Surface Characteristics from File: ..\..\AERSURFACE\KABE\KABE_2001_IMP_CAN.SFC User Inputs Varied by: Month Wind Sector Bowen Roughness Month Start End Albedo Ratio Length (m) Continued on next slide Stage 3 Report File (MCR_ST3.RPT) cont’d 5: The surface characteristics used to estimate the boundary layer parameters. These characteristics correspond to the airport (Albany, NY) meteorological data. Since there were three sectors, there are three sets. Two sets are shown here; the third set is on the next slide.

MCR_ST3.RPT 6. Input File(s) for AERMOD Surface Meteorology: MC_ SFC Profile Data : MC_ PFL Stage 3 Report File (MCR_ST3.RPT) cont’d The first 12 lines are a continuation of the surface characteristics corresponding to the airport (Albany, NY) 6: The names of the output files that will be used as input to AERMOD.

MCR_ST3.RPT AERMET, A Meteorological Processor for the AERMOD Dispersion Model Version Data Processed on 7-JAN-14 at 17:00:32 Stage Page 3 ******************************************************** *** AERMET Data Processing Finished Successfully *** PROCESSING METEOROLOGICAL DATA FOR DISPERSION MODELING **** AERMET MESSAGE SUMMARY TABLE **** TOTAL JOB E W I ONSITE W I METPREP W I T Stage 3 Report File (MCR_ST3.RPT) cont’d As we have seen before, this is a summary of the number of messages generated by AERMET. Recall we said that the messages are divided into functional groups. Since we are only running Stage 3, all the messages are associated with numbers (the METPREP pathway), except for the two associated with the JOB pathway (10-19 and 20-29) and two associated with the ONSITE pathway (50-69).

Stage 3 – Report File, concluded
MCR_ST3.RPT **** ERROR MESSAGES **** --- NONE --- **** WARNING MESSAGES **** 1 ONSITE W51 LOCCRD : NO ONSITE elevation specified on LOCATION keyword, default of 0m assumed; 2 ONSITE W51 LOCCRD : Recommend specifying station elevation. METPREP W73 MPPBL : No sounding to calculate convective parameters on Julian day: 225 METPREP W72 XTNDUA : TOP OF SOUNDING TOO LOW TO EXTEND SOUNDING METPREP W73 MPPBL : No sounding to calculate convective parameters on Julian day: 228 METPREP W73 MPPBL : No sounding to calculate convective parameters on Julian day: 238 METPREP W73 MPPBL : No sounding to calculate convective parameters on Julian day: 279 METPREP W73 MPPBL : No sounding to calculate convective parameters on Julian day: 280 METPREP W73 MPPBL : No sounding to calculate convective parameters on Julian day: 284 METPREP W73 MPPBL : No sounding to calculate convective parameters on Julian day: 102 ASOS Commission Date for Surface Station (YYYYMMDD): The number of CALM winds encountered is: The number of VARIABLE WD encountered is: Stage 3 Report File (MCR_ST3.RPT) cont’d And a list of the error messages (none – otherwise AERMET would have stopped processing data and indicated it had finished UN-successfully), warning messages, ASOS commissioning date, and the number of calm and variable winds. The messages regarding no soundings is probably the most useful. Without a sounding to estimate the boundary layer height and other parameters that use that value, there are no calculations performed for the Julian days noted. The fourth warning message indicates that the top of the sounding is too low to extend upward. AERMET will extend a sounding upward to 4000 meters using the observed lapse rate. However, there has to be sufficient number of levels for AERMET to accomplish this. While the details of this process are not a part of this course, it helps to understand all the processing/logic that AERMET can perform. On August 15, 2011, the sounding apparently failed at a low level and could not be extended. If you look at that day in the output file (.sfc extension), you will see that the convective mixing height is zero and the convective velocity scale and lapse rate above the mixing height are missing. AERMOD will not be making any dispersion estimates for those hours.

Stage 3 – Message File MCR_ST3.RPT Stage 3 Message File (MCR_ST3.MES)
1 ONSITE W51 LOCCRD : NO ONSITE elevation specified on LOCATION keyword, default of 0m assumed; 2 ONSITE W51 LOCCRD : Recommend specifying station elevation. METPREP I88 AERSURF : AERSURF file opened successfully: ..\..\AERSURFACE\MC\MC_2001_IMP_CAN.SFC METPREP I19 AERSURF : "END OF FILE" on unit 5 after AERSURF file record # 49 METPREP I88 AERSURF : AERSURF2 file opened successfully: ..\..\AERSURFACE\KABE\KABE_2001_IMP_CAN.SFC METPREP I19 AERSURF : "END OF FILE" on unit 5 after AERSURF2 file record # 62 JOB I19 SETUP : "END OF FILE" ON UNIT 5 AFTER RECORD # 137 JOB I27 OSTEST : Minimum and maximum ONSITE height level indices derived from data file are: METPREP I41 FNDCOMDT: ASOS commission date FOUND for WBAN = ; CALL4 = KABE; CALL3 = ABE; CommDate = METPREP I83 MPMET : Anem height found in ASOS list for station : Height from ASOS list (m) is: METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I81 SUBST : 1-min ASOS winds used as reference winds for hour: 02 METPREP I85 SUBST : On-site reference temp only (no profile) used with off-site WS for hour: 02 METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I81 SUBST : 1-min ASOS winds used as reference winds for hour: 22 METPREP I85 SUBST : On-site reference temp only (no profile) used with off-site WS for hour: 22 METPREP I81 SUBST : 1-min ASOS winds used as reference winds for hour: 24 METPREP I85 SUBST : On-site reference temp only (no profile) used with off-site WS for hour: 24 METPREP I84 MPPBL : Upper air sounding selected for this day: 12 Z METPREP I81 SUBST : 1-min ASOS winds used as reference winds for hour: 01 METPREP I85 SUBST : On-site reference temp only (no profile) used with off-site WS for hour: 01 METPREP I81 SUBST : 1-min ASOS winds used as reference winds for hour: 02 METPREP I85 SUBST : On-site reference temp only (no profile) used with off-site WS for hour: 02 METPREP I81 SUBST : 1-min ASOS winds used as reference winds for hour: 06 METPREP I85 SUBST : On-site reference temp only (no profile) used with off-site WS for hour: 06 Stage 3 Message File (MCR_ST3.MES) A portion of the message file is shown here. Recall we said there were two messages associated with the JOB pathway and two with the ONSITE pathway and the remainder were for the METPREP pathway. Most of them are informational only. Here we see the two for the JOB pathway – records 7 and 8 – and the two for the ONSITE pathway (records 1 and 2). Earlier it was mentioned that AERMET performs a validation of the NWS anemometer height (NWS_HGT). The record in red is a message related to this validation stating the station was found in the station list and the height stored is 7.92 meters. Some of the other messages include: Each day a sounding is used, AERMET reports which sounding is in use. If there is no wind speed and direction, i.e. it is missing, then AERMET lets you know when that happened. In this case since we did substituted NWS data for site-specific data, AERMET indicates the substitution of the 1-min ASOS winds. Hours when there was no site-specific winds, but there was a site-specific temperature that was used. Note that the occurrence of this message is paired with a message regarding substitution of 1-min ASOS winds. The remainder of the file is similar and can be viewed on your own.

Stage 3 – Profile File for AERMOD
MC_ PFL Stage 3 Profile File (MC_ PFL) No surprises here. We have seen this data over and over from the 10-m tower and sodar. Date/Time The year (2-digit), month, day, hour. Profile Height (m) Height (m) above local ground level. The same number of levels are present for each hour. If three had been more or fewer levels for an hour, AERMET would have failed at the Stage 1 QA of the site-specific data. Wind Direction (degrees from north) and Speed (m/s) Wind direction and wind speed. Note that the winds are missing at the uppermost level for the first hour and are missing at the lowermost level for the third hour. Ambient Temperature (°C) Dry bulb temperature. Standard Deviation of the Horizontal Wind Direction (σA) and Standard Deviation of the Vertical Wind Speed (σw) The next to last field (σA) was one of the variables reported, but only at the 10-m level. The first non-missing value in this dataset was on May 4. The last field is σw. There were no σw data in our site-specific data. Whether σA and/or σw are present or not, AERMET will always include these fields in the output file to ‘fill out’ the record.

Stage 3 – Surface File for AERMOD
MC_ SFC 40.79N W UA_ID: SF_ID: OS_ID: VERSION: 13350 Stage 3 Surface File (MC_ SFC) It is important to understand the parameters in this file not only for understanding what affects dispersion in AERMOD, but also for determining if there was a gross error in running AERMET. Only the first 120 columns are shown (of 162) on this slide. The next slide will cover the remaining 40 columns. The first record shows the latitude and longitude for the site, the station identifiers, and the version of AERMET used to produce this file. AERMOD checks this date to be sure it is an acceptable version. AERMOD version will only accept AERMET versions and With each release of AERMOD, the acceptable versions AERMET output may change. Check with the EPA’s web site for information on this when the next version of AERMOD is released. DATE/TIME The first 5 fields are the year (2-digit), month, day, Julian day, and hour (LOCAL time).

Stage 3 – Surface File for AERMOD
NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS NAD-OS Stage 3 Surface File (MC_ SFC) cont’d This slide covers the remaining 40 columns. For convenience the date/time group is repeated on each record, but would not appear in the actual data file in this position. Precipitation type code and amount (mm) Following the temperature group is precipitation type and amount, if any. This information would be used for wet deposition. AERMET converts the different codes in the data to a single code for liquid and a single code for frozen since AERMET does not distinguish between the various forms of liquid or frozen precipitation. The codes are 0=none, 11=liquid, 22=frozen, 99=missing. The precipitation is reported in millimeters. In the first 36 hours of our file, there was no precipitation. In this hands-on, precipitation was not reported until May 3, hour 21 (9 pm). Relative Humidity (%), Station Pressure (mb), Cloud Cover (tenths) These values are used throughout AERMET for various purposes and are the familiar NWS weather observations. Does anyone care to speculate why the cloud cover jumped from 0/10 at hour 23 to 10/10 to at hour 24 on May 1? It is impossible to tell, but one possibility is that clouds were present at hour 23 but too high for the ceilometer to ‘see’. In the next hour, the clouds lowered to below the ceilometer’s threshold height (about 12,000 feet) Wind Speed Adjustment and Data Source Flag This group of characters documents the source of the wind data in this Stage 3 file. The first part of the code indicates whether the wind speed was adjusted (ADJ) or was not adjusted (NAD). The source of the wind data for each record is encoded as either “OS”, “SFC”, or “A1” to indicate the use of ONSITE, SURFACE, or 1-minute ASOS winds, respectively. The two parts of the code are separated by a hyphen, and if no wind data are available for a particular hour, the second part of the code is blank.

Run All Three Stages with One Click
Using a batch file, AERMET can be run three separate times without user intervention between each stage You will use this technique in developing the 5-year NWS data set for AERMOD copy mcr_st1.inp aermet.inp ..\aermet.exe del aermet.inp copy mcr_st2.inp aermet.inp copy mcr_st3.inp aermet.inp The batch file is an easy way to run all three stages with “one click” (double click) of the mouse button. This does not alleviate your responsibility to review the output files. AERMET does NOT check to see if it will overwrite a file. If you should use the same name in all three stages, say for the messages, you will only have the message file from Stage 3. You can avoid this by renaming files, as needed, after each AERMET run.

On Your Own It is important to run the following so you have a processed 5-year data set for AERMOD (to examine the results for the new probabilisitic 1-hr standards for SO2 and NOX) Rerun AERMET for the 5-yr NWS-only data in APTI423\Hands-on\AERMET\5-yr_NWS\ Easiest to use the batch file Rather than download three more years ( ) of hourly observations and concatenate them with the two years already downloaded, the 5-year file is provided for you. In addition the 5 years of upper air sounding data is also in the folder ready for processing. You can use the batch file or perform the steps found in the batch file in a command prompt window.

On Your Own Try rerunning AERMET by modifying some of the inputs to see the effects on the results Change all the roughness lengths from meters to centimeter, e.g., to 3.1 Change the time adjustment parameters, particularly on the SURFACE pathway for the ISHD format Take some time to modify an input parameter to se the effect on the Stage 3 output. For example, input roughness length as centimeters instead of meters, as shown on the slide. If you decide to try rerunning AERMET we suggest using the 1-yr data set with the site-specific data. There is less processing and less to examine.

AERMET Hands-on Course #423 Day 2 Morning

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AERMET Hands-on Course #423 Day 2 Morning

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