Chapter 6. CMAQ FILES
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Chapter 6. CMAQ FILES

6.1. CMAQ Input Files
6.2. Basic CMAQ Output Files
6.3. Diagnostic and advanced CMAQ Output Files

The current version of CMAQ utilizes 21 input files for all of the preprocessors and the CCTM combined. The input files consist of a domain definition file for all programs; two file options for both ICON and BCON; one type of input file to MCIP; five mandatory and one optional input to JPROC; and for the CCTM an emissions, initial, and boundary conditions files, six files which define the meteorological conditions to be simulated, and a photolysis rates file. For many of these CCTM input file types, a separate data set is required for each grid mesh to be modeled.

CMAQ output files include a basic set of files with aerosol and gas-phase species concentrations, wet and dry deposition estimates, and visibility metrics, and an auxiliary set of output files for diagnosing model performance and plume-in-grid modeling.

6.1. CMAQ Input Files

6.1.1. GRIDDESC: Horizontal Domain Definition
6.1.2. IC_PROFILE: Initial conditions vertical profiles
6.1.3. BC_PROFILE: Boundary conditions vertical profiles
6.1.4. MECH_CONV_FILE: Mechanism Conversion File
6.1.5. CTM_CONC_1: CCTM concentration Files
6.1.6. CSQY: Absorption cross section and quantum yields
6.1.7. ET: Extraterrestrial irradiance
6.1.8. PROFILES: Atmospheric vertical profiles
6.1.9. TOMS: Total ozone mapping spectrometer data
6.1.10. O2ABS: Molecular oxygen absorption cross-section data
6.1.11. O3ABS: Ozone absorption cross-section data
6.1.12. Meteorological Data Input Files
6.1.13. BNDY_CONC_1 : Boundary Conditions
6.1.14. INIT_CONC_1: Initial Conditions
6.1.15. JTABLE: Photolysis Rates Lookup Table
6.1.16. EMISfile: Emissions
6.1.17. GC2file: Two-dimensional Grid Cross Product Input (GRID_CRO_2D)
6.1.18. GD2file: Two-dimensional Grid Dot Product Input (GRID_DOT_2D)
6.1.19. MB3file: Three-dimensional Meteorological Boundary Input (MET_BDY_3D)
6.1.20. MC2file: Two-dimensional Meteorological Cross-Product Input (MET_CRO_2D)
6.1.21. MC3file: Three-dimensional Meteorological Cross-Product Input (MET_CRO_3D)
6.1.22. MD3file: Three-dimensional Meteorological Dot-Product Input (MET_DOT_3D)

This section describes each of the input files required by the different CMAQ programs. The section begins with a description of the grid definition file which is used by several CMAQ programs and then goes through a program-by-program listing of the CMAQ input file requirements. Table 4.1 lists the source, file type, and temporal and spatial dimensions of each CMAQ input file. Sample disk space requirements for desired input data set can be easily calculated from the information in Table 4.1; each data record is four bytes. Thus, if you know the number of variables in a CMAQ file and the spatial and temporal coverage of the data, the file sizes can be calculated.

Table 6.1. CMAQ Input File Information

File Name File Type Time-Dependence Spatial Dimensions Source
General
GRIDDESC ASCII n/a n/a user/MCIP
ICON
ic_profile ASCII Annual n/a user
m3conc GRDDED3 Hourly X * Y * Z CCTM
BCON
bc_profile ASCII Annual n/a user
m3conc GRDDED3 Hourly X * Y * Z CCTM
JPROC
Extraterrestrial Irradiance ASCII Annual n/a user
Default Atmospheric Profiles ASCII Annual n/a user
O2 Absorption ASCII Annual n/a user
O3 Absorption ASCII Annual n/a user
TOMS ASCII varies n/a user
CSQY ASCII Annual n/a user
MCIP
MMOUT Binary Hourly n/a MM5
CCTM
Initial Conditions GRDDED3 Time-invariant X * Y * Z ICON/CCTM
Boundary Conditions BNDARY3 Hourly PERIM *Z BCON
JTABLE ASCII Daily n/a JPROC
Emissions GRDDED3 Hourly X * Y * Z SMOKE
2D Grid Cross GRDDED3 Time-invariant X * Y MCIP
2D Grid Dot GRDDED3 Time-invariant (X+1)*(Y+1) MCIP
3D Meteorological Boundary BNDARY3 Hourly PERIM*Z MCIP
2D Meteorological Cross GRDDED3 Hourly X * Y MCIP
3D Meteorological Cross GRDDED3 Hourly X * Y * Z MCIP
3D Meteorological Dot GRDDED3 Hourly (X+1) * (Y+1) * Z MCIP

6.1.1. GRIDDESC: Horizontal Domain Definition

Used by: JPROC, ICON, BCON, CCTM

The CMAQ grid description file (GRIDDESC) is used by all programs except JPROC and MCIP to define the horizontal spatial grid of the modeling domain. GRIDDESC is an I/O API ASCII file that contains two sections, a horizontal coordinate section and grid description section. GRIDDESC is the logical name for text files which store horizontal coordinate and grid descriptions, and which is read by the DSCGRID() and DSCOORD() utility routines. This file has two segments. Each segment has a 1-line header (which by convention provides titles for the columns in the data records), a sequence of data records, and a terminal record with name field blank (i.e. ' ').

The first segment is the coordinate-system-description segment (Table 4.2) and consists of text records giving coordinate-system name and descriptive parameters P_ALP, P_BET, P_GAM, XCENT, and YCENT. Note that the standard names for UTM coordinate systems are given in the form UTM_<nn>, where nn is the number for the UTM zone. Most of the Eastern US would use coordinate system UTM_17, for example.

The second segment is the grid-description segment (Table 4.3), and consists of text records giving grid name, related coordinate-system name and descriptive parameters XORIG, YORIG, XCELL, YCELL, NCOLS, NROWS, and NTHIK. In the usual Models-3 modeling situation, there will be both "dot-point" and "cross-point" grids present (these grids are topological duals in the sense that the vertices (corners) of one correspond to the cell-centers of the other.

Each data record in these files consists of two or three list-formatted lines (i.e., items are separated by either blanks or commas). Name fields are quoted strings, and appear on the first of these lines. Numeric fields are given in double precision, and occur on either the second line or the second and third (this allows you to organize the text so that it is easily viewed in a text editor without running off-screen). The records have the following organization, depending upon whether they are in the first or second segments:


        COORD-NAME
    COORDTYPE, P_ALP, P_BET, P_GAM
    XCENT, YCENT
    
        or

    COORD-NAME
    COORDTYPE, P_ALP, P_BET, P_GAM, XCENT, YCENT
    
        and
    
    GRID-NAME
    COORD-NAME, XORIG, YORIG, XCELL, YCELL
    NCOLS, NROWS, NTHIK
    
        or
    
    GRID-NAME
    COORD-NAME, XORIG, YORIG, XCELL, YCELL, NCOLS, NROWS, NTHIK

There are at most 32 coordinate systems and 256 grids listed in one of these files. These files are small enough to be archived easily with a study, and have a sufficiently simple format that new ones can easily be constructed "by hand." The GRIDDESC file is a list-formatted file, delimited by blank spaces unless otherwise specified.

An example of the two sections of a GRIDDESC file follows:



' '
'LAM_40N100W'
 2 30.0 60.0 -100.0 -100.0 40.0
' '
'M_32_99TUT02'
'LAM_40N100W'  544000.0 -992000.0  32000.0  32000.0  38  38 1
' '

The first of the two sections in this example GRIDDESC entry defines a horizontal coordinate named "LAM_40N100W". The coordinate definition is for a Lambert Conformal Grid, keyed by first column of the coordinate description line, which corresponds to the numerical code for the different I/O API-supported grid types (2 = Lambert). The next two parameters are the Lambert Alpha and Beta latitudes that determine the projection cone. The fourth parameter is the central meridian of the projection. The last two parameters are the latitude-longitude coordinates of the grid center of the Cartesian coordinate system.

The example grid definition above describes a grid named "M_32_99TUT02". The definition of the grid begins with a reference to a coordinate name from the coordinate definition section of the file; in this example the coordinate named "LAM_40N100W" is referenced in the grid definition. The next two parameters in the grid definition are the East-West and North-South offsets from the origin in meters, respectively. The next two parameters are the grid cell size in meters for the X and Y directions, followed by the number of cells in the X and Y directions. The grid definition concludes with the number of boundary cells.

Table 6.2. Coordinate system description segment

Line Column Name Type Description
1 A Header String Single quote delimited header describing section contents; may be blank, i.e. ' '
2 A COORD-NAME String Name of the coordinate description (required); single quote delimited
3 A COORDTYPE Int County Code (required)
  B P_ALP Double First map projection descriptive parameter (dependent on projection type)
  C P_BET Double Second map projection descriptive parameter (dependent on projection type)
  D P_GAM Double Third map projection descriptive parameter (dependent on projection type)
  E XCENT Double Longitude for coordinate system origin (where X=0)
  F YCENT Double Longitude for coordinate system origin (where Y=0)

Table 6.3. Coordinate system description segment

Line Column Name Type Description
1 A Header String Single quote delimited header describing section contents; may be blank, i.e. ' '
2 A GRID-NAME String Name of the horizontal grid (required); single quote delimited
3 A COORD-NAME String Reference to a coordinate description (required), single quote delimited
  B XORIG Double X-coordinate for lower-left (southwest) corner of the grid (dependent on projection type)
  C YORIG Double Y-coordinate for lower-left (southwest) corner of the grid (dependent on projection type)
  D XCELL Double X-coordinate grid cell size (dependent on projection type)
  E YCELL Double Y-coordinate grid cell size (dependent on projection type)
  F NCOLS Int Number of horizontal grid columns (dependent on projection type)
  G NROWS Int Number of horizontal grid rows (dependent on projection type)
  H NTHIK Int Boundary perimeter thickness (optional)

The GRIDDESC file can either be created by hand or generated automatically with MCIP. Starting with MCIP version 2.3, the program outputs a GRIDDESC file that is compatible with the other CMAQ programs.

6.1.2. IC_PROFILE: Initial conditions vertical profiles

Used by: ICON

ICON can generate initial conditions from two different input file types. The first file type is an ASCII vertical profile file that list species concentrations at different model layers that are fixed in space in time. ICON is configured to generate initial conditions from ASCII vertical profiles by choosing the "prof" input module when compiling the programs (see Section xxx on ICON).

The ASCII-formatted vertical profile files begin with a header that contains a comment section describing the data and a file description section that defines the number of sigma levels in the file, the number of pollutants in the file, and the vertical coordinate values of the different sigma levels. The next entries in these files are the Julian start date and the start time of the data and are not used by ICON.

Each line in the IC_PROFILE file corresponds to a different pollutant and begins with the name of the pollutant. The subsequent columns on each line list the chemical concentration at each layer contained in the file. Gas-phase species are provided in ppmV units and aerosol species are provided in μg/m3 units in the IC_PROFILE file. The layer structure of the ICON vertical profiles does not need to correspond exactly to the layer structure that will be modeled; the program will interpolate the data to the correct vertical format for the simulation.

Initial conditions are inherently temporally static, as they correspond to the first hour of a model simulation only. Generating initial conditions from an ASCII profile file produces a gridded file for input to the CCTM that has uniform species concentrations across the entire horizontal grid at each model layer. For spatially resolved initial conditions, it is necessary to use the other input file type to ICON, an existing CCTM concentration file (CTM_CONC_1).

A detailed description of the vertical profile file format for initial conditions is provided in Table 4.4. The header of the profiles file is list-formatted while the data section of the file is fixed format.

Table 6.4. IC_PROFILE format description

Line Column Name Type Description
1-3   Text Header String Text description of the contents and source of the initial conditions file (optional)
4 A NUM_SIGMA_LVL Int Number of sigma levels contained in the file (required)
  B NUM_POLL Int Number of pollutants contained in the file (required)
  C SIGMA_LVL Real Vertical coordinate values of sigma-p levels, number of values (n) matches NUM_SIGMA_LVL (required)
4 n ... ... ...
5 A STDATE String Julian start date of the file, YYYYDDD (optional)
  B STTIME String Start time of the file, HH (optional)
6 1-10 SPECIES1 String Pollutant name, enclosed in double quotes (required)
  12-20 LAYER1_IC Exp IC concentration for species 1 in lowest sigma layer (required)
  23-31 LAYER2_IC Exp IC concentration for species 1 in 2nd sigma layer (required)
  34-42 LAYER3_IC Exp IC concentration for species 1 in 3rd sigma layer (required)
  45-53 LAYER4_IC Exp IC concentration for species 1 in 4th sigma layer (required)
  ... LAYERX_IC Exp IC concentration for species 1 in Xth sigma layer (required)
7 1-10 SPECIES2 String Pollutant name, enclosed in double quotes (required)
  12-20 LAYER1_IC Exp IC concentration for species 2 in lowest sigma layer (required)
  23-31 LAYER2_IC Exp IC concentration for species 2 in 2nd sigma layer (required)
  34-42 LAYER3_IC Exp IC concentration for species 2 in 3rd sigma layer (required)
  45-53 LAYER4_IC Exp IC concentration for species 2 in 4th sigma layer (required)
  ... LAYERX_IC Exp IC concentration for species 2 in Xth sigma layer (required)
... ... ... ... ...
  ... LAYERX_IC Exp IC concentration for species 2 in Xth sigma layer (required)
... ... ... ... ...
Y 1-10 SPECIESY String Pollutant name, enclosed in double quotes (required)
... 12-20 LAYER1_IC Exp IC concentration for species Y in lowest sigma layer (required)
... 23-31 LAYER2_IC Exp IC concentration for species Y in 2nd sigma layer (required)
... 34-42 LAYER3_IC Exp IC concentration for species Y in 3rd sigma layer (required)
... 45-53 LAYER4_IC Exp IC concentration for species Y in 4th sigma layer (required)
... ... LAYERX_IC Exp IC concentration for species Y in Xth sigma layer (required)

A sample of the four sections of an IC_PROFILE file is shown below.


Optional initial condition: The vertical coordinate of the model to generate
 these b.c. is the terrain-following sigma coordinate. The number of sigma
 layers and defined sigma levels are listed below.
   6 55 1.00 0.98 0.93 0.84 0.60 0.30 0.00
 1988180 00
"SO2 " 0.300E-03 0.200E-03 0.100E-03 0.100E-03 0.200E-04 0.100E-04

6.1.3. BC_PROFILE: Boundary conditions vertical profiles

Used by: BCON

Like ICON, BCON can generate boundary conditions from two different input file types. The first file type is an ASCII vertical profile file that list species concentrations at different model layers that are fixed in space in time. BCON is configured to generate initial conditions from ASCII vertical profiles by choosing the "prof" input module when compiling the programs (see Section xxx on BCON).

The ASCII-formatted vertical profile files begin with a header that contains a comment section describing the data and a file description section that defines the number of sigma levels in the file, the number of pollutants in the file, and the vertical coordinate values of the different sigma levels. The next entries in these files are the Julian start date and the start time of the data and are not used by BCON. The only difference between the ICON and BCON vertical profile files is that the BCON input consists of four data sections, corresponding to each horizontal boundary (e.g. north, south, east, west) of the model grid. The BCON input profiles contain an additional field that precedes each data section indicating which horizontal boundary the data section describes.

The format of the data sections in the ICON and BCON input files are exactly the same. Each line corresponds to a different pollutant and begins with the name of the pollutant. The subsequent columns on each line list the chemical concentration at each layer contained in the file. Gas-phase species are provided in ppmV units and aerosol species are provided in μg/m3 units in the BCON inputs. The layer structure of the BCON vertical profiles does not need to correspond exactly to the layer structure that will be modeled; the programs will interpolate the data to the correct vertical format for the simulation.

Boundary conditions can either be time-independent (static) or time-dependent (dynamic). Boundary conditions generated with the ASCII vertical profiles are both static and spatially uniform along each of the four horizontal boundaries. For spatially and temporally resolved boundary conditions, it is necessary to use the other input file type to BCON, an existing CCTM concentration file (CTM_CONC_1).

A detailed description of the vertical profile file format for boundary conditions is provided in Table 4.5. The header of the profiles file is list-formatted while the data section of the file is fixed format.

Table 6.5. BC_PROFILE format description

Line Column Name Type Description
1-3   Text Header String Text description of the contents and source of the initial conditions file (optional)
4 A NUM_SIGMA_LVL Int Number of sigma levels contained in the file (required)
  B NUM_POLL Int Number of pollutants contained in the file (required)
  C SIGMA_LVL Real Vertical coordinate values of sigma-p levels, number of values (n) matches NUM_SIGMA_LVL (required)
4 n ... ... ...
5 A STDATE String Julian start date of the file, YYYYDDD (optional)
  B STTIME String Start time of the file, HH (optional)
6 A Direction String North, South, East, West; indicates the boundary described by the subsequent data section (required)
6 1-10 SPECIES1 String Pollutant name, enclosed in double quotes (required)
  12-20 LAYER1_IC Exp IC concentration for species 1 in lowest sigma layer (required)
  23-31 LAYER2_IC Exp IC concentration for species 1 in 2nd sigma layer (required)
  34-42 LAYER3_IC Exp IC concentration for species 1 in 3rd sigma layer (required)
  45-53 LAYER4_IC Exp IC concentration for species 1 in 4th sigma layer (required)
  ... LAYERX_IC Exp IC concentration for species 1 in Xth sigma layer (required)
7 1-10 SPECIES2 String Pollutant name, enclosed in double quotes (required)
  12-20 LAYER1_IC Exp IC concentration for species 2 in lowest sigma layer (required)
  23-31 LAYER2_IC Exp IC concentration for species 2 in 2nd sigma layer (required)
  34-42 LAYER3_IC Exp IC concentration for species 2 in 3rd sigma layer (required)
  45-53 LAYER4_IC Exp IC concentration for species 2 in 4th sigma layer (required)
  ... LAYERX_IC Exp IC concentration for species 2 in Xth sigma layer (required)
... ... ... ... ...
Y A Direction String North, South, East, West indicates the horizontal boundary described by the subsequent data section (required)
Y+1 1-10 SPECIESY String Pollutant name, enclosed in double quotes (required)
... 12-20 LAYER1_IC Exp IC concentration for species Y in lowest sigma layer (required)
... 23-31 LAYER2_IC Exp IC concentration for species Y in 2nd sigma layer (required)
... 34-42 LAYER3_IC Exp IC concentration for species Y in 3rd sigma layer (required)
... 45-53 LAYER4_IC Exp IC concentration for species Y in 4th sigma layer (required)
... ... LAYERX_IC Exp IC concentration for species Y in Xth sigma layer (required)

A sample of the important sections of a BC_PROFILE file is shown below.


 Optional boundary condition: The vertical coordinate of the model to generate
 these b.c. is the terrain-following sigma coordinate. The number of sigma
 layers and defined sigma levels are listed below.
   6 55 1.00 0.98 0.93 0.84 0.60 0.30 0.00
 1988180 00
North
"SO2 " 0.300E-03 0.200E-03 0.100E-03 0.100E-03 0.200E-04 0.100E-04
West
"SO2 " 0.300E-03 0.200E-03 0.100E-03 0.100E-03 0.200E-04 0.100E-04

6.1.4. MECH_CONV_FILE: Mechanism Conversion File

Used by: ICON, BCON

MECH_CONV_FILE is the logical name of the ASCII input file that contains photochemical mechanism conversion rules. This file contains expressions that are used to convert IC's and BC's from one mechanism form to another. The default IC and BC profiles distributed with CMAQ contain RADM2 species. The ICON and BCON processors have a hardwired routine for converting from RADM2 to CB-IV. This hardwired routine can be overridden by supplying a MECH_CONV_FILE at run time.

A detailed description of the MECH_CONV_FILE format is provided in Table 4.6. The file is list-formatted.

Table 6.6. MECH_CONV_FILE format description

Line Column Name Type Description
1 1-16 SPP1_OUT String Output mechanism species name (required)
  17 "=" Char " " delimits the left-hand and right-hand side of the conversion equation (required)
  18 SPP1_IN String Input mechanism species name, coefficients on right-hand side of equation may be either integer, real, or exponential format (required)
1 n ... ... ...
1 n+1 ";" Char ";" conversion rule terminator, allows rules to span multiple lines (required)
2 1-16 SPP2_OUT String Output mechanism species name (required)
  17 "=" Char "=" delimits the left-hand and right-hand side of the conversion equation (required)
  18 SPP2_IN String Input mechanism species name, coefficients on right-hand side of equation may be either integer, real, or exponential format (required)
2 n ... ... ...
2 n+1 ";" Char ";" conversion rule terminator, allows rules to span multiple lines (required)
... ... ... ... ...
X 1-16 SPPX_OUT String Output mechanism species name (required)
  17 "=" Char "=" delimits the left-hand and right-hand side of the conversion equation (required)
  18 SPPX_IN String Input mechanism species name, coefficients on right-hand side of equation may be either integer, real, or exponential format (required)
X n ... ... ...
X n+1 ";" Char ";" conversion rule terminator, allows rules to span multiple lines (required)
X+1 1 "END;" String "END;" file terminator (required)

A sample of the entries in a MECH_CONV_FILE file is shown below.



  NO2  =  NO2;
    FORM  = HCHO + 1.0 * GLY;
   END;

6.1.5. CTM_CONC_1: CCTM concentration Files

Used by: ICON, BCON

The second file type that can be input to ICON and BCON is a GRDDED3-formatted CCTM output concentration file. ICON and BCON are configured to generate initial and boundary conditions from a CCTM concentration file by selecting the "m3conc" option for the input file module when compiling the programs. The input concentration file must cover a temporal and spatial extent that is consistent with the time period and domain that is being modeled, respectively. Both ICON and BCON will require that a Julian start date be specified at execution that identifies the first time step to extract from the input concentration file; BCON also requires a run length specification to direct the number of time steps of boundary conditions to extract from the input file. For nested runs, the nested domain for which initial and boundary conditions are being extracted must be on the same projection and fall within the domain contained in the input concentration file.

6.1.6. CSQY: Absorption cross section and quantum yields

Used by: JPROC

CSQY is the logical name for the ASCII data file containing absorption cross-section and quantum yield data for unique photolysis reactions. The data in these files are listed as a function of wavelength and correspond to the standard photolysis reactions in each of the chemical mechanisms implemented in CMAQ. A flexible format allows users to deviate from these standards and test new data with a trivial amount of effort.

The ASCII-formatted CSQY files begin with a header describing the applicable photolysis reaction, comments about the source of the data, and the location on the wavelength interval that the data represents (Beginning, Centered, or Ending). Comment lines are preceded with a "!". The last section of the header is a multiplier (FAC) that is applied to the photolysis rate calculation. The data section of the CSQY file lists the wavelength of the incoming solar radiation (nm), the absorption cross section (cm) and the quantum yield as columns, with each row corresponding to a specific wavelength interval. The CSQY file uses a space delimited, free-form format for the data section of the file. A detailed description of the CSQY file format is provided in Table 4.7.

Table 6.7. CSQY format description

Line Column Name Type Description
1 A Reaction ID String Text name identifying the data; this name is cross-referenced in the chemical mechanism description and include files (required)
2 A Comments String Preceded by "!" comment lines describe the reaction, list the stoichiomtery, and document the source of the data (optional)
n ... ... ... ...
n + 1 A Data Location String Field indicating the location of the data as measured across the wavelength band; possible answers: beginning, ending, centered, point (required)
n + 2 A Multiplier String Multiplication factor to apply to photolysis rate equation; line begins with FAC=, factor listed in real or exponential format (required)
n + 3 A Wavelength Int or Real Wavelength corresponding to CSQY data, units in nm (required)
  B Absorption Cross-Section Real or Exp Measurement of the cross-section of a molecules spherical receiving surface for actinic flux, units in cm2 molecule-1 (required)
  C Quantum Yield Real Ratio of the number of molecules reacting via a specific pathway to the number of molecules absorbing photons in that wavelength interval, units in molecules photon-1 (required)
n + 4 A Wavelength Int Wavelength corresponding to CSQY data, units in nm (required)
  B Absorption Cross-Section Real or Exp Measurement of the cross-section of a molecules spherical receiving surface for actinic flux, units in cm2 molecule-1 (required)
  C Quantum Yield Real Ratio of the number of molecules reacting via a specific pathway to the number of molecules absorbing photons in that wavelength interval, units in molecules photon-1 (required)
n + X ... ... ... ...

A sample of the important sections of a CSQY file is shown in Table 4.8.

Table 6.8. Example CSQY data file


    1              ALD_CBIV88
    2              ! Acetaldehyde Photolysis (ALD)
    3              ! CH3CHO + hv (+2O2)→CH3OO + HO2 + CO
    4              ! Taken from Gery et al. [1988]; CSQY from Baulch et al. 5 [1984].
    6              ! format:  wl, abs_cs, qy
    7              Centered
    8              ! With FAC, units are (cm²/molecule)
    9              FAC=1.0E-20
    10             280  4.50  0.580
    11             281  4.54  0.575
    12             282  4.58  0.570

6.1.7. ET: Extraterrestrial irradiance

Used by: JPROC

ET is the logical name for the ASCII data file containing extraterrestrial radiation as a function of wavelength. The extra-terrestrial irradiance file has a format similar to the CSQY file. The file begins with a header section; comment lines are preceded with a "!". Like the CSQY file, the header contains a field describing the location on the wavelength interval that the data represents and a multiplier. The data section uses a space delimited, free-form format and lists the wavelength of the incoming solar radiation (nm) and the irradiance (Photons/cm²-s) at each wavelength, with each row corresponding to a specific wavelength interval. A detailed description of the file format is provided in Table 4.9.

Table 6.9. ET file format description

Line Column Name Type Description
1 A Comments String Preceded by "!" comment lines, describe the file contents and document the source of the data (optional)
n ... ... ... ...
n + 1 A Data Location String Field indicating the location of the data as measured across the wavelength band; possible answers: beginning, ending, centered, point (required)
n + 2 A Multiplier String Multiplication factor to apply to photolysis rate equation; line begins with FAC=, factor listed in real or exponential format (required)
n + 3 A Wavelength Int or Real Wavelength corresponding to ET data, units in nm (required)
  B Extraterrestrial Irradiance Real or Exp Estimation of the photon flux reaching the exterior of the earths atmosphere, units in photons cm-2 second-1 (required)
n + 4 A Wavelength Int Wavelength corresponding to ET data, units in nm (required)
  B Extraterrestrial Irradiance Real or Exp Estimation of the photon flux reaching the exterior of the earths atmosphere, units in photons cm-2 second-1 (required)
n + X ... ... ... ...

A sample of the important sections of an ET file is shown below.



! Extra Terrestrial Irradiance
! taken from the RADM data---derived from the WMO 1985 report Table 7-4
! format: wl, et_irrad
Beginning
! With FAC, units are (Photons cm-2 s-1)
FAC=1.0
  185.185 3.620E+11
  186.916 4.730E+11

6.1.8. PROFILES: Atmospheric vertical profiles

Used by: JPROC

PROFILES is the logical name for the ASCII data file containing seasonal and vertical profiles for ozone, aerosol attenuation, temperature, air pressure, and Dobson values. The ASCII-formatted data provided in the atmospheric profiles data file (PROFILES) are at 19 latitude bands (90°N to 90°S) and 51 altitudes (0 to 50 km) in three distinct data sections. The first data section contains seasonal, latitude-dependent vertical profiles of O3 concentrations (molecules/cm³), air temperature (K), and air density (molecules/cm³). The second data section contains monthly Dobson values at the 19 latitude bands. The last data section contains vertical profiles from the 1976 U.S. Standard Atmosphere of air temperature (K), air density (molecules/cm³), ozone concentrations (molecules/cm³), and aerosol attenuation coefficients (km-1).

The first data section of the PROFILES file is divided into 228 (19*3*4) data blocks with each block representing one of the three variables (O3, air temperature, and air density) at one of the 19 latitude bands, for each of the 4 seasons of the year. The individual data blocks contain 51 values per variable, representing standard conditions at altitudes ranging from 0-50 km. The data are ordered, from general to specific, by season (spring, summer, autumn, winter), variable (O3, air temperature, air density), latitude, and altitude. For example, the first block in the PROFILES file contains spring O3 concentration profiles at the latitude band ranging from 90°N to 80°N from 0 to 50 km above sea level, the first value in the block is at 0 km and the last value is at 50 km. The next data block is again spring O3 concentration profiles but at the latitude band ranging from 80°N to 70°N. The next 17 data blocks complete the spring O3 concentration profiles by continuing through rest the 19 latitude bands with the last block representing the 80°S to 90°S latitude band. The 20th data block begins the spring air temperature profiles at the latitude band ranging from 90°N to 80°N and is followed by 18 more data blocks of spring air temperature profiles. The following 19 data blocks follow an identical format for air density and round out the spring profiles. These 19*3 data blocks are then repeated for summer profiles, autumn profiles, and finally winter profiles.

The second data section in the PROFILES file contains monthly average Dobson Units. The data are organized in twelve rows (January through December) and 19 columns (90°N to 80°N through 80°S to 90°S).

The last data section in the PROFILES file contains vertical profiles from the 1976 U.S. Standard Atmosphere of temperature (K), air density (molecules/cm³), ozone concentrations (molecules/cm³), and aerosol attenuation coefficients (km-1). The data are organized in 51 rows, corresponding to altitude (0-50km), with four columns per row for each of the four variables mentioned above. A detailed description of the file format is provided in Table 4.10.

Table 6.10. PROFILE file format description

Line Column Name Type Description
1 A Ozone concentration at Season 1, Latitude 1, Level 1 Exp (E10.3) Ozone measurements as a function of season, latitude, and vertical level; units in molecules cm-3 (required)
  B Ozone concentration at Season 1, Latitude 1, Level 2 Exp (E10.3) Ozone measurements as a function of season, latitude, and vertical level; units in molecules cm-3 (required)
... ... ... ... ...
127 A Ozone concentration at Season 1, Latitude 19, Level 1 Exp (E10.3) Ozone measurements as a function of season, latitude, and vertical level; units in molecules cm-3 (required)
  B Ozone concentration at Season 1, Latitude 19, Level 2 Exp (E10.3) Ozone measurements as a function of season, latitude, and vertical level; units in molecules cm-3 (required)
... ... ... ... ...
134 A Temperature profiles at Season 1, Latitude 1, Level 1 Exp (E10.3) Temperature measurements as a function of season, latitude, and vertical level; units in K (required)
  B Temperature profiles at Season 1, Latitude 1, Level 2 Exp (E10.3) Temperature measurements as a function of season, latitude, and vertical level; units in K (required)
... ... ... ... ...
260 A Temperature profiles at Season 1, Latitude 19, Level 1 Exp (E10.3) Temperature measurements as a function of season, latitude, and vertical level; units in K (required)
  B Temperature profiles at Season 1, Latitude 19, Level 2 Exp (E10.3) Temperature measurements as a function of season, latitude, and vertical level; units in K (required)
... ... ... ... ...
267 A Air pressure profiles at Season 1, Latitude 1, Level 1 Exp (E10.3) Air pressure measurements as a function of month, latitude, and vertical level; units in molecules cm-3 (required)
  B Air pressure profiles at Season 1, Latitude 1, Level 2 Exp (E10.3) Air pressure measurements as a function of month, latitude, and vertical level; units in molecules cm-3 (required)
... ... ... ... ...
393 A Air pressure profiles at Season 1, Latitude 19, Level 1 Exp (E10.3) Air pressure measurements as a function of season, latitude, and vertical level; units in molecules cm-3 (required)
  B Air pressure profiles at Season 1, Latitude 19, Level 2 Exp (E10.3) Air pressure measurements as a function of season, latitude, and vertical level; units in molecules cm-3 (required)
... ... ... ... ...
1596 A Air pressure profiles at Season 4, Latitude 19, Level 51 Exp (E10.3) Air pressure measurements as a function of season, latitude, and vertical level; units in molecules cm-3 (required)
1597 A Average Dobson Values at Latitude 1, Month 1 Real Average Dobson value as a function of latitude and month (required)
1597 B Average Dobson Values at Latitude 2, Month 1 Real Average Dobson value as a function of latitude and month (required)
... ... ... ... ...
1608 A Average Dobson Values at Latitude 19, Month 12 Real Average Dobson value as a function of latitude and month (required)
1609 A Air Temperature at Level 1 Real Air temperature for a standard atmospheric profile, units in K (required)
  B Air Pressure at Level 1 Real or Exp Air pressure for a standard atmospheric profile, units in molecules cm-3 (required)
  C Ozone Concentration at Level 1 Real or Exp Ozone concentration for a standard atmospheric profile, units in molecules cm-3 (required)
  C Aerosol Attenuation at Level 1 Real or Exp Aerosol attenuation for a standard atmospheric profile
1659 A Air Temperature at Level 51 Real Air temperature for a standard atmospheric profile, units in K (required)
  B Air Pressure at Level 51 Real or Exp Air pressure for a standard atmospheric profile, units in molecules cm-3 (required)
  C Ozone Concentration at Level 51 Real or Exp Ozone concentration for a standard atmospheric profile, units in molecules cm-3 (required)
  D Aerosol Attenuation at Level 51 Real or Exp Aerosol attenuation for a standard atmospheric profile

6.1.9. TOMS: Total ozone mapping spectrometer data

Used by: JPROC

TOMS is the logical name for the ASCII data file containing total ozone column measurements taken by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer instrument aboard the sun-synchronous polar orbiting Nimbus satellite. The data is presented for specific Julian dates as a function of location on the earth (latitude and longitude).

A detailed description of the file format is provided in Table 4.11 below. The files are fix-formatted.

Table 6.11. 

Line Column Name Type Description
1 A Julian Day Int Julian start day of the file, DDD; preceded by 6 blank spaces (required)
  B Julian Year Int Start year of the file, YYYY; preceded by 9 blank spaces (required)
2   Header String 80 character line describing the contents of the file (if omitted, needs line placeholder)
3   Header String 80 character line describing the contents of the file (if omitted, needs line placeholder)
4 A TOMS Data Int TOMS ozone measurements as a function of longitude and latitude, ###; line starts with a space, then space delimited 25 values per line (required)
... ... ... ... ...

6.1.10. O2ABS: Molecular oxygen absorption cross-section data

Used by: JPROC

O2ABS is the logical name for the ASCII data file containing absorption cross-section and quantum yield data for O2 photolysis. The data in these files are listed as a function of wavelength. These files follow the same format as the CSQY files described above.

6.1.11. O3ABS: Ozone absorption cross-section data

Used by: JPROC

O3ABS is the logical name for the ASCII data file containing absorption cross-section and quantum yield data for O3 photolysis. The data in this files are listed as a function of wavelength. This files follows the same format as the CSQY files described above.

6.1.12. Meteorological Data Input Files

Used by: MCIP

MCIP reads either MM5 (version 2 or version 3) binary output files (MMOUT) or WRF binary outputs to generate I/O API formatted netCDF files for input to CMAQ and SMOKE. For details about the format of the MMOUT files visit the MM5 homepage at http://www.mmm.ucar.edu/mm5. For information about the format of the WRF output files visit the WRF homepage at http://wrf-model.org.

6.1.13. BNDY_CONC_1 : Boundary Conditions

Used by: CCTM

CMAQ boundary condition data are of the BNDARY3 file type. Produced by the boundary condition processor, BCON, the CCTM reads these data and correlates them with the interior data by the use of a pointer system. This pointer system designates the beginning location of the data in memory which starts a new side of the domain (e.g., South, East, North, and West). Figure 4.1 illustrates this input data structure and the relationship of the boundary data to the interior data within CMAQ modules.

Each species being modeled should be on the boundary conditions file. If modeled species are not contained in this file, the boundary condition for these species will default to the value 1E-30. The perimeter of the CMAQ domain is NTHIK cells wide where NTHIK = (2*NROW)+(2*NCOL)+4. The CMAQ program BCON (Section 2.2.2) is used to generate CMAQ boundary condition input files from either existing CMAQ outputs or from ASCII-vertical profiles. Figure 4.2 is a graphical example of the CMAQ boundary conditions file.

Figure 6.1. Illustration of CMAQ boundary condition file

Illustration of CMAQ boundary condition file





Figure 6.2. Graphical example of a CMAQ gridded boundary conditions file

Graphical example of a CMAQ gridded boundary conditions file

6.1.14. INIT_CONC_1: Initial Conditions