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Users Guide

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Windows Interface for the U.S. EPA AERMOD Meteorological Preprocessor (AERMET)

Jesse L. Th, Ph.D., P.Eng. Cristiane L. Th, M.A.Sc. Michael A. Johnson, B.Sc.

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1999-2000 Lakes Environmental Software. All rights reserved. Windows, Windows 95, Windows NT, MS Write, MS-DOS, are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the USA and other countries.

Published by Lakes Environmental Software 450 Phillip Street, Suite 2 Waterloo, Ontario N2L 5J2 Canada Tel.: (519) 746-5995 Fax: (519) 746-0793 Web Site: http://www.lakes-environmental.com e-mail: info@lakes-environmental.com

ISCAER305UG

LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT


You should carefully read the following license and warranty information. Opening this package indicates your acceptance of these terms and conditions. Lakes Environmental Software, a division of Lakes Environmental Consultants Inc., retains the ownership of this copy of the software. This copy is licensed to you for use under the following conditions: COPYRIGHT NOTICE This software is owned by Lakes Environmental Software and is protected by both Canadian copyright law and international treaty provisions. You must treat this software like any other copyrighted material (e.g., a book or musical recording). Lakes Environmental Software authorizes you to make archive copies of the software to protect it from loss. The software may be moved from one computer to another, as long as there is no possibility of two or more people using it at the same time. Licensee may not distribute, rent, sub-license, lease, alter, modify, or adapt the software or documentation, including, but not limited to, translating, decompiling, disassembling, or creating derivative works without the prior written consent of Lakes Environmental Software. Licensee agrees that in case of transference of ownership of the software, the transferee must expressly accept all terms and conditions of this agreement. The provided software and documentation contain trade secrets and it is agreed by the licensee that these trade secrets will not be disclosed to non-licensed persons without written consent of Lakes Environmental Software. WARRANTY AND LIABILITY Lakes Environmental Software warrants that, under normal use, the material of the magnetic diskettes and the documentation will be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 60 days from the date of purchase. In the event of notification of defects in material or workmanship, Lakes Environmental Software will replace the defective diskettes or documentation. The above warranty is in lieu of all other warranties, whether written, express, or implied. Lakes Environmental Software specifically excludes all implied warranties, including, but not limited to, loss of profit, and fitness for a particular purpose. In no case shall Lakes Environmental Software assume any liabilities with respect to the use, or misuse, or the interpretation, or misinterpretation, of any results obtained from this software, or for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from the use of this software. Specifically, Lakes Environmental Software is not responsible for any costs including, but not limited to, those incurred as a result of lost profits or revenue, loss of data, the costs of recovering programs or data, the cost of any substitute program, claims by third parties, or for other similar costs. In no event will Lakes Environmental Software's liability exceed the amount of the license fee. GOVERNING LAW This license agreement shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada. Any terms or conditions of this agreement found to be unenforceable, illegal, or contrary to public policy in any jurisdiction will be deleted, but will not affect the remaining terms and conditions of the agreement. ENTIRE AGREEMENT This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and Lakes Environmental Software.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank all those who have helped with reviews and suggestions for the successful completion of this software. We have received useful feedback from our users and for that we are truly grateful. Some of our main contributors were:

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Russell Lee - Independent Consultant, NC Trevor Billington T. Billington Eng. Consultants Ltd., UK Jeff Secrest The Air Group, TX

Our development effort was enormously facilitated by our team members: Igor Raskin Oleg Shatalov Valeriy Smotrikov Irina Tchoumatcheva Mark Hilverda Sarah Thuring Aglaia Obrekht Nina Obrecht

All codes, executables, and users guides are the intellectual property of Lakes Environmental Software.

DISCLAIMER

This document and accompanying software follow the U.S. EPA AERMOD Meteorological Preprocessor (AERMET) program and documentation to the best of our understanding. The user is responsible for checking the input data and the results for consistency.

Contents

Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction............................................................................ 1-1

X X X X X X X X

The U.S. EPA AERMET Program....................................................................... 1-1 The Aermet View Interface ................................................................................. 1-3 The Aermet View Window.................................................................................. 1-3 Menu Bar............................................................................................................ 1-4 Toolbar Buttons .................................................................................................. 1-8 Using Online Help .............................................................................................. 1-9 How This Users Guide is Organized .................................................................1-10 Getting Technical Support..................................................................................1-10

Chapter 2 Tutorial .................................................................................... 2-1

X X X X X X

Creating an Aermet View Project ........................................................................ 2-1 Hourly Surface Data............................................................................................ 2-2 Hourly Surface Data Tab............................................................................. 2-2 QA Surface Variables Tab........................................................................... 2-4 Upper Air Data ................................................................................................... 2-4 Upper Air Data Tab..................................................................................... 2-4 QA Upper Air Variables Tab....................................................................... 2-6 Sectors ................................................................................................................ 2-7 Application Site .......................................................................................... 2-7 Sectors & Surface Parameters...................................................................... 2-8 Running AERMET ............................................................................................2-10 A Brief Tutorial for On-Site Data.......................................................................2-11 On-Site Data Tab .......................................................................................2-11 Data Records Tab.......................................................................................2-12 Additional Parameters Tab .........................................................................2-17 QA On-Site Variables Tab..........................................................................2-18

Chapter 3 Using Aermet View ................................................................. 3-1

X X X

The Hourly Surface Data Window....................................................................... 3-1 Hourly Surface Data Tab............................................................................. 3-1 The QA Surface Variables Tab.................................................................... 3-9 The Upper Air Data Window .............................................................................3-11 Upper Air Data Tab....................................................................................3-11 The QA Upper Air Variables Tab...............................................................3-14 The On-Site Data Window .................................................................................3-15 The On-Site Data Tab.................................................................................3-15

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X X X X
References

The Data Records Tab................................................................................3-17 The Additional Parameters Tab ..................................................................3-22 The QA On-Site Variables Tab...................................................................3-22 The Application Site Window ............................................................................3-24 The Application Site Tab............................................................................3-24 The Sectors and Surface Parameters Tab ....................................................3-26 Running the U.S. EPA AERMET Program.........................................................3-31 The Project Status Dialog Box....................................................................3-32 Running AERMET.....................................................................................3-33 Runtime Error Messages ............................................................................3-33 The AERMET Output Files................................................................................3-34 The Surface File.........................................................................................3-34 The Profile File ..........................................................................................3-35 The QA Procedure .............................................................................................3-36

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CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Welcome to Aermet View - a Windows interface for the U.S. Environmental


Protection Agency (EPA) AERMET program. Thank you for choosing Aermet View. Lakes Environmental has put in a lot of effort to create the easiest to use and most stable interface on the market. This chapter gives you a brief description of the Aermet View interface and the EPA AERMET program and introduces the basic components of Aermet View to allow a quick start into the interface. Contents

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

The U.S. EPA AERMET Program The Aermet View Interface The Aermet View Window Menu Bar Toolbar Buttons Using Online Help How this Users Guide is Organized Getting Technical Support

The U.S. EPA AERMET Program


The AERMET program is a meteorological preprocessor which prepares hourly surface data and upper air data for use in the U.S. EPA short term air quality dispersion model AERMOD. AERMET was designed to allow for future enhancements to process other types of data and to compute boundary layer parameters with different algorithms. AERMET processes meteorological data in three stages: 1) The first stage extracts meteorological data from archive data files and processes the data through various quality assessment checks. 2) The second stage merges all data available for 24-hour periods (surface data, upper air data, and on-site data) and stores these data together in a single file.

3) The third stage reads the merged meteorological data and estimates the necessary boundary layer parameters for use by AERMOD.

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Out of this process two files are written for AERMOD: 1) A Surface File of hourly boundary layer parameters estimates; 2) A Profile File of multiple-level observations of wind speed, wind direction, temperature, and standard deviation of the fluctuating wind components. A flowsheet depicting the Aermet processing stages is shown below.

AERMET Processing Stages (Source: U.S. EPA Users Guide for AERMET DRAFT)

The minimum input data requirements to AERMET are: The upper air soundings; The hourly surface observations of wind speed, wind direction, dry bulb temperature, cloud cover, and ceiling height. When on-site meteorological data, such as from an instrumented tower, is available, this data can be incorporated into the AERMET processing and is used in the generation of the Profile File. The surface and upper air stations should be carefully selected to ensure they are meteorologically representative of the general area being modeled. A limitation of the AERMET model is: The temperature structure of the atmosphere prior to sunrise is required by AERMET to estimate the growth of the convective boundary layer for the day. Currently, AERMET uses the 1200 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) upper air sounding from the National Weather Service for this purpose. A one-hour window of time in the search allows for the possibility of an early or late launch time. This search restricts the applicability of AERMET to those longitudes where the 1200 GMT sounding corresponds to the early morning hours, i.e., the Western Hemisphere.

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The Aermet View Interface


Aermet View is a user-friendly interface for the U.S. EPA AERMET program. This interface was developed specially for Microsoft Windows and runs under Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT. The files provided with Aermet View are: Aermetvw.exe: Aermet View executable. AermetDB: Folder containing database files used by Aermet View. Aermetvw.hlp: Aermet View Help file. MetStations.DB and MetStations.PX: Database files containing information for surface and upper air NWS stations. Stage1n2.exe: U.S. EPA AERMET executable program for Stages 1 and 2. Stage3.exe: U.S. EPA AERMET executable for Stage 3. Aermet View contains all the available options of the U.S. EPA AERMET program and uses the U.S. EPA AERMET executables (Stage1n2.exe and Stage3.exe) without any modifications.

The Aermet View Window


Aermet Views window components follow the standard Window features. For more information on standard Window commands, see your Windows documentation. The components of the Aermet View window are:

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Control menu ..............................The Control Menu box displays the sizing options, to

switch to another application, or to close Aermet View.


Title bar.......................................Displays the interface name, Aermet View, and between

brackets the full path and name of the project file in use.
Minimize button ..........................Minimizes the Aermet View window.

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Y Y Y

Maximize/Restore button .............Maximizes Aermet View window, or restores it to its

pre-maximized size and position.


Close button ...............................This button will close Aermet View. Menu bar .....................................Displays menu names.

To open a menu, move the mouse over the menu name and then press the left mouse button. A menu appears displaying a list of related commands.

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Toolbar buttons ..........................These are a series of buttons that take you into the

various data input windows of AERMET.


Tip Frame ....................................This area displays a helpful tip for the window that is

currently open.

Menu Bar
The following is the description of each menu option:

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File (Alt, F)

New Project.......................................Displays the New Project dialog box, where you specify the name of the new Aermet View project file (*.AMF). Open Project .....................................Displays the Open Project dialog box, where you specify an existing Aermet View project file (*.AMF) to

be opened.
Save Project ......................................Saves the current Aermet View project file (*.AMF). Save Project As .................................Displays the Save Project As dialog box, allowing you

to save the current Aermet View project with a different name (*.AMF).
Close Project ....................................Closes the current project. # List of Files ....................................Displays a list of up to four of the most recently used

Aermet View project files. Clicking on any of them will quickly open the selected project.
Exit ...................................................Closes the Aermet View interface.

Input (Alt, I)

Hourly Surface Data ..........................Opens the Hourly Surface Data window in which you

specify the hourly surface data file, information, and the QA surface variables.

associated

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Upper Air Data...................................Opens the Upper Air Data window in which you specify

the upper air data file, associated information, and the QA upper air variables.
On-Site Data......................................Opens the On-Site Data window in which you specify

the on-site data file, the data record, any additional parameters, and the QA on-site variables.
Application Site.................................Opens the Sectors and Surface Parameters window in

which you specify wind direction sectors, and sitespecific information.

Run (Alt, R)

Run Aermet .......................................Opens the Status tab of the Project Status dialog box,

which tells you whether your project is complete and which parts need to be completed. From the Project Status dialog box you can run AERMET.
Details ..............................................Displays the Details tab of the Project Status dialog

box, which displays any missing information. From the


Project Status dialog box you can run AERMET.

View (Alt, R)

Input File

Stage 1 ........................................... Opens Windows WordPad to examine the Stage 1 input

file (*.IN1) generated by Aermet View, needed to run AERMET Stage 1.

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Stage 2 ........................................... Opens Windows WordPad to examine the Stage 2 input

file (*.IN2) generated by Aermet View, needed to run AERMET Stage 2.


Stage 3 ........................................... Opens Windows WordPad to examine the Stage 3 input

file (*.IN3) generated by Aermet View, needed to run AERMET Stage 3.

Output File

Surface File .................................Opens Windows WordPad to examine the output

Surface file generated by AERMET.


Profile File...................................Opens Windows WordPad to examine the output Profile

file generated by AERMET.


Message File.................................. Opens Windows WordPad to examine the message file

(*.MSG) generated by AERMET which allows you to identify potential problems with the met data. You can view the Message files for Stage 1, 2, and 3.
Report File ..................................Opens Windows WordPad to examine the report file

(*.ARP) generated by AERMET that summarizes the input. You can view the Report file for Stage 1, 2, and 3.
Other File ....................................Allows you to specify a file to be opened in Windows

WordPad.

Utilities (Alt, U)

Met View ...........................................Displays the Surface and Profile files in a grid format.

In this format, a description of each parameter is available for easy verification of the data.
Multi-Year Data..................................Displays the Multi-Year Met Data File Utility.

This utility allows you to combine more than one year of surface or upper air met data in one single file. The following formats are supported: SCRAM surface met data, CD144 surface met data, SAMSON surface met data, and TD6201 upper air met data.

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Help (Alt, H)

Contents ...........................................Displays Aermet View Help Contents, from which you

can select topics.


Search for Help on ............................Lets you search for help on a particular topic. Help on Help .....................................Displays information on How to Use Help. Team .................................................... Displays information on the Aermet View development

team.
Technical Support ............................... Displays

technical support Environmental software.

options

for

Lakes

Web Links ............................................ Displays Web links for product upgrades, free met data,

Lakes Web site, and other related links.


About ................................................Displays the copyright notice, authors, and version

number for the Aermet View interface.

Toolbar Buttons
The toolbar buttons are shortcuts to some of the menu commands. The function of each one of these buttons is explained below.

File | New Project .............. Lets you create a new Aermet View project file.

File | Open Project ...........Lets you open an existing Aermet View project file.

File | Save Project ............. Lets you save the current Aermet View project file.

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Run | Run Aermet ............. Lets you run the U.S. EPA AERMET program.

Input | Hourly Surface Data ...........Opens the Hourly Surface Data window in

which you specify the Hourly Surface Data file, associated information, and the QA surface variables.

Input | Upper Air Data ....... Opens the Upper Air Data window in which you specify

the Upper Air Data file, associated information, and the QA upper air variables.

Input | On-Site Data .......... Opens the On-Site Data window in which you specify

the On-Site Data file, the Data Record, any Additional Parameters, and the QA on-site variables.

Input | Application Data.... Opens the Sectors and Surface Parameters window in

which you specify Wind Direction Sectors, Surface Parameters, and Site Information

Utilities | Met View ............ Displays the Surface and Profile files in a grid format.

In this format, a description of each parameter is available for easy verification of the data. ........................................... Displays Lakes Environmental WRPLOT View. This utility can generate wind rose plots for your AERMET surface meteorological data.

Using Online Help


Aermet View Help contains extensive information on the U.S. EPA AERMET program requirements, how to use Aermet View, and related information collected from EPAs documentation and guidelines. Aermet View Help is a very useful tool as you learn both Aermet View and the AERMET program. You can have access to Aermet View online Help in the following ways:

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Help Menu: Two menu commands are available on the Help menu, the Contents and the Search for Help on.... See the description of these menu commands below.
1. Contents: Select this option if you want to see Aermet View Help Contents. From there

you can jump to any topic you want.


2. Search for Help on ... : This option displays the Search dialog box, so you can quickly

search for a particular topic. You can also get to the search dialog box by clicking the [Search] button on any Help screen. Help Toolbar Button: The [Help] button located on the toolbar will display the Help Contents for the window you are currently working on. Context-Sensitive Help (F1): Many parts of the Aermet View interface support a contextsensitive help. This way you can get help without having to go through the Help menu. To get a context-sensitive help on a specific option or topic, the cursor focus should be over the item of interest (e.g., input field, option buttons, etc.). Status Bar Quick Tips: The status bar, located on the bottom part of every window, gives you quick tips on Aermet View options and inputs. As you move the mouse on the screen, the status bar message changes to indicate what a particular command does.

How This Users Guide is Organized


The Aermet View Users Guide is organized to help you learn Aermet View quickly and easily. The guide is broken into functional groupings as follows:
Chapter 1 - Introduction: This chapter presents basic information on the EPA AERMET

program and the Aermet View interface.


Chapter 2 - Tutorial: This chapter presents a step by step example using Aermet View. Chapter 3 - Using Aermet View: This chapter explains how to use the Aermet View interface.

Getting Technical Support


Lakes Environmental is dedicated to providing full technical support for its software. If you need any assistance please contact the Lakes Environmental technical support staff. Our technical support hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. Please have your serial number and version number ready when calling us.

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Lakes Environmental Software Inc. 450 Phillip Street, Suite 2 Waterloo, Ontario N2L 5J2 Canada

Tel. : (519) 746-5995 Fax : (519) 746-0793

e-mail : support@lakes-environmental.com Web Site : http://www.lakes-environmental.com

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Chapter 2 Tutorial

CHAPTER 2

Tutorial

Before you jump right into Aermet View, you might want to start with a simple
tutorial. This tutorial will guide you through the basic steps in processing meteorological data files for use with the U.S. EPA AERMOD model. Contents

Creating an Aermet View Project Hourly Surface Data Upper Air Data Application Site Running AERMET A Brief Tutorial for On-Site Data

Creating an Aermet View Project


Follow the steps below to start your Aermet View tutorial:
Step 1:

From the Windows Start menu choose Programs > Lakes Environmental > Aermet View or double-click on the Aermet View icon if you have created a shortcut on the desktop.

Step 2:

Aermet Views About dialog box appears on the screen. Click the OK button. Select File | New Project to display the New Aermet View Project dialog box. Select the Directory and Drive and enter the File Name for your new project. If you only want to browse this tutorial, we have included a file in the installation disk as TUTORIAL.AMF.

Step 3:

Step 4:

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Hourly Surface Data

The Hourly Surface Data window is the first window displayed when you create a new project or open an existing one. This window contains two tabs: the Hourly Surface Data tab and the QA Surface Variables tab. Follow the steps described below to build your tutorial project.

Hourly Surface Data Tab


Hourly Surface Data File Name: You must specify the name and path for the hourly

surface data file. Press the Specify File button (

) to display the Open dialog box.

Step 5:

Select the S1482688.dat hourly surface file located C:\ISCView3\Tutorial\Met (if this was your installation directory). Press the Preview button to preview the surface data file.

in

your

Step 6:

Format: This is the format of the hourly surface data file that you have specified. AERMET can process three formats: SCRAM (MET144), CD-144, and SAMSON.

Step 7:

Select the SRAM file format.

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Station ID: This is the ID for the surface station from where your hourly surface met file is originated.

Step 8:

Make sure 14826 was specified. The surface data in the SCRAM file format writes the station ID on every row, columns 1 to 5.

Latitude/Longitude: This is the location of the surface station from which hourly observations are being used.
Step 9:

Latitude: Longitude:

42 deg 58 min 1 sec North 83 deg 45 min 0 sec West

Adjustment for Local Time: This is the number of hours required to convert the time of each data record on the surface met data to local standard time (LST).
Step 10:

Leave the default value of 0 (No Conversion). The 0 value means that the hourly surface observations were reported in local standard time.

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Dates to be Retrieved (Start End): These are the start and end dates (inclusive) of the data to be extracted from the surface data file.
Step 11: By default, Aermet View specifies the Dates to be retrieved from January 1 to December 31 of the year of the surface data you have specified. To change the date range, press the Dates button. Please check if the dates are the following:

Start Date: January 01, 1988 End Date: December 31, 1988

QA Surface Variables Tab


On the QA Surface Variables tab you may select one or more variables to be audited. During the quality assessment (QA) process, audited variables are checked as being missing or outside a range of acceptable values. By double clicking on a specific variable, you will be able to check the default ranges, description, units, and missing indicators for all variables.
Step 12: Double-click on any QA surface variable to check its default values. For this tutorial, we are not carrying out any QA on the surface variables.

Upper Air Data

The Upper Air Data window is displayed when you press the Upper Air menu tool bar button. This window contains two tabs: the Upper Air Data tab and the QA Upper Air Variables tab. Follow the steps described below to build your tutorial project.

Upper Air Data Tab


Upper Air Data File Name (NCDC TD-6201): You must specify the name and path for the upper air data file. Currently, the U.S. EPA AERMET model can only process data from TD-6201 format. Press the File button to display the Open dialog box.

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Step 13: Select the A148264.ua upper air data file located C:\ISCView3\Tutorial\Met (if this was your installation directory). Step 14:

in

your

Press the Preview button to preview the upper air data file.

Format: This is the format of the NCDC TD-6201 upper air data file. Two formats are available: fixed-length blocks and variable-length blocks.

Step 15: Select the Fixed-Length format.

Station ID: This is the ID for the upper air station from where your upper air data file is originated.
Step 16: Make sure 00014826 was specified as the station ID. On the upper air data file, the station ID is given on the first 8 characters.

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Latitude/Longitude: This is the location of the upper air station from which upper air data are being used.
Step 17: Latitude: Longitude:

42 deg 58 min 1 sec North 83 deg 45 min 0 sec West

Adjustment for Local Time: This is the number of hours required to convert the time of each data record on the upper air met data to local standard time (LST).
Step 18:

Make sure 5 (Eastern) was selected. This means that a factor of 5 will be used to convert GMT time reported in the upper air data to local standard time.

Dates to be Retrieved (Start End): These are the start and end dates (inclusive) of the data to be extracted from the upper air data file.
Step 19: If you already selected the dates in the Hourly Surface Data tab, then the dates will be shown here. To change the date range, press the Dates button. Please make sure the following was specified:

Start Date: 1988/01/01 End Date: 1988/12/31

QA Upper Air Variables Tab


On the QA Upper Air Variables tab you may select one or more variables to be audited. During the quality assessment (QA) process, audited variables are checked for being missing or outside the range of acceptable values. By double clicking on a specific

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variable, you will be able to check the default ranges, description, units, and missing indicators for all variables.
Step 20: Double-click on any QA upper air variable to check its default values. For this tutorial, we are not auditing any upper air variables.

The On-Site met data is optional. For this tutorial we are not going to use on-site data when processing the met data, however, at the end of this tutorial, we will provide a brief hands-on on how to specify the parameters for the on-site data.

Sectors

The Application Site window is displayed when you press the Sectors menu tool bar button. This window contains two tabs: Application Site, and Sectors & Surface Parameters. Follow the steps described below to add data to your tutorial project.

Application Site
Information regarding the location of the site for which data are being prepared (application site) is essential for the process of data. The following information is requested about the application site:
Site ID: This is an eight character alphanumeric specifier that identifies your site. Step 21: Specify MySite

Time Zone: This is an adjustment factor to convert the time of each upper air sounding in the input data file from local standard time back to Greenwich Mean Time to locate the 12Z sounding.

Step 22:

Select 5 (Eastern).

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Latitude/Longitude: This is the location of the application site. The latitude and longitude coordinates should be for the location of the source.
Step 23: Latitude: Longitude:

42 deg 0 min 0 sec North 83 deg 0 min 0 sec West

Some additional parameters are also requested on the Application Site tab: Estimate Boundary Layer Parameters Using NWS Data when On-Site Data are Missing: If this option is checked, then AERMET uses NWS data to estimate boundary layer parameters, if on-site data are missing for the hour.
Step 24:

Check this option.

Anemometer Height [m]: This is the height in meters of the NWS wind instrument (anemometer).
Step 25:

Specify an anemometer height of 10 m.

Sectors & Surface Parameters


Surface characteristics at the measurement site influence boundary layer parameter estimates. These influences are quantified through the surface albedo, Bowen ratio, and roughness length. In order to better quantify these characteristics, you need to specify the frequency that these characteristics change (annually, seasonally, or monthly) and the number of different sectors. Wind Direction Sectors: A minimum of 1 and maximum of 12 sectors can be specified. For each sector the end angle must be specified. Sectors are defined clockwise and they must cover the full circle. The end of one sector must be the beginning of another.

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Step 26:

Specify 1 for the Wind Direction Sectors option.

Start Angle [deg]: You can use the default values for the start angle for each sector. The Uniform option automatically places end angles for each sector by dividing the circle on equal sectors. The Non-Uniform option allows you to specify your own sectors end angles.
Step 27:

Select the Uniform option.

Specify Surface Parameters for Sectors: The frequency at which surface parameters may change must be defined before the parameters are specified. The frequency can be annual, by season, or by month.

The following surface parameters must be specified for each period of time:
1. Albedo: this is the fraction of total incident solar radiation reflected by the

surface back to space without absorption.


2. Bowen Ratio: the daytime Bowen Ration is an indicator of surface moisture. 3. Surface Roughness: this is related to the height of obstacles to the wind flow.

Typical values for all the above parameters are available by pressing the button ( ) located on the right hand side of each cell. This button is only visible when you place your mouse cursor at the cell.
Step 28:

Select the Annually option and specify the following parameters: Albedo = 0.15 Bowen Ratio = 2 Surface Roughness = 0.12

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Running AERMET

Now that we have specified all the data for our tutorial example, it is time to run the U.S. EPA AERMET model. Press the Run menu toolbar button or select Run | Run Aermet from the menu. The Project Status dialog box is displayed informing you the name for the two output files that will be generated after AERMET runs. Also, on the Details tab you will get a brief description of any missing data.
Step 29:

Press the Run menu toolbar button. Check the Details tab for any missing information. If your project is complete, press the Run button.

The U.S. EPA AERMET model will run in three stages: 1. Stage 1 - Extraction and Quality Assessment: in this stage, the data is extracted/retrieved and the assessment of the quality of the data is performed. 2. Stage 2 Merging Data: in this stage, the files from stage 1 are combined into a single ASCII file. 3. Creating Model Input Files: in this stage, the merged file is read in conjunction with site-specific parameters and two files are produced for input to AERMOD. The first file contains boundary layer scaling parameters and reference-height winds and temperature. The second file contains one or more levels (profile) of winds, temperature and the standard deviation of the fluctuating components of the wind.
Step 30:

When each stage finish running, then the following message appears on the bottom of the DOS window: AERMET Data Processing Finished Successfully. Close the DOS window. You can preview the generated files by selecting the following menu options: View | Output File | Surface File... and View | Output File | Profile File

Step 31:

Your tutorial project is complete. We hope you have successfully completed the tutorial.

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A Brief Tutorial for On-Site Data

This section is not part of the Aermet Tutorial. If you want to learn a bit more On-Site data, then we advise you to create a new project, so you can play around with the on-site data inputs. We are providing you with an on-site data file, OnSite.met that can be found in the Tutorial\Met folders. On-Site Data window is displayed when you press the On-Site menu tool bar button. This window contains four tabs: On-Site Data tab, Data Records tab, Additional Parameters tab, and QA On-Site Variables.

On-Site Data Tab


Include On-Site Data? The on-site met data is optional and you need to indicate if you want to use this option by selecting Yes.
Step 1 -

Select the Yes option.

Specify On-Site Data File Name: If you are using the On-Site Data option, then you must

specify the name and path for the on-site met data file.
Step 2 -

Select the ONSITE.MET file from the tutorial folder from your installation directory.

Station ID: This is the ID for the On-Site station. The station ID must be an integer with a

maximum length of eight characters. If your on-site station does not have an ID, you can type a dummy ID (e.g., 00099999).

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Step 3 -

Specify 00099999

Adjustment for Local Time: This is the number of hours required to convert the time of each data record on the on-site met data to local standard time (LST).
Step 4 -

Leave the default value of 0 (No Conversion). The 0 value means that the on-site met data was reported in local standard time.

Dates to be Retrieved (Start End): These are the start and end dates (inclusive) of the data to be extracted from the on-site met data file.
Step 5 -

Specify the following: Start Date: 1988/03/01 End Date: 1988/03/10

Latitude/Longitude: This is the location of the on-site station from which upper air data are being used.
Step 6 -

Specify the following: Latitude: 41 deg 18 min 0 sec North Longitude: 74 deg 0 min 0 sec West

Data Records Tab


No. of Data Records per Observation Period: This is the number of data records per observation period. AERMET can process up to a maximum of 20 data records per observation period.
Step 7 -

Press the Preview button to preview the on-site met data. Note that there are 3 data records per observation period. Using the arrow up button specify 3 as the number of data records per observation.

Step 8 -

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No. of Measurement Heights in Multi-Level Input Data: This is the number of measurement heights for the multi-level profile data.
Step 9 - Using the arrow up button specify 3 as the number of measurement heights.

Data Records: This field will display the first N data records for the first observation period of the on-site met data file. N is the Number of Data Records per Observation Period that you have specified. In this tutorial example N = 3.

Current Record: This field displays the data record that is highlighted on the Data Records field.

Variables to Read for Current Record: You must specify the variables to be read for the current record. The current record is the one highlighted in the Data Records field. You specify the variables by clicking on the Edit button.

Step 10 -

Select the first data record (first row) from the Data Records field. Note that the selected record is displayed on the Current Record field. Press the Edit button to display the On-Site Variables dialog box.

Step 11 -

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Select Single-Level On-Site Variables: These variables are the ones that do not depend on

the level (height) at which observation was taken. The single-level variables must be read before multi-level variables.
Step 12 -

From the Single-Level On-Site Variables Exclude these Variables list, select the following variables:
OSDY: OSMO: OSYR: OSHR: Day Month Year Hour

Press the Shift key or the Alt+Ctrl keys to make multi selections. Press the left arrow key to move the selected variables from the Exclude list to the Include list. If the variables are not in the right order, you can select a specific variable and drag it to the right position. Note that a description for the selected variable is displayed on the bottom of the Include list.

Step 13 -

From the Multi-Level On-Site Variables Exclude these Variables list, select the following variables: HT01: SA01: SW01: TT01: WD01: WS01: Height at level 1 Std. dev. horizontal wind at level 1 Std. dev. w-comp. of wind at level 1 Temperature at level 1 Wind direction at level 1 Wind speed at level 1

Level 1 means the level at which the observation was taken. In this example, the height for the first level (level 1) is being given by the variable HT01 specified above.

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Step 14 -

After you have selected all the variables for data record one click the OK button. The selection will be automatically posted on the Variable to Read for Current Record field.

Step 15 -

Repeat steps 10 through 14, for data records 2 and 3. Select the following multi-level variables:

Data Record #2: HT02: SA02: SW02: TT02: WD02: WS02: Height at level 2 Std. dev. horizontal wind at level 2 Std. dev. w-comp. of wind at level 2 Temperature at level 2 Wind direction at level 2 Wind speed at level 2

Level 2 is the level at which the observation was taken. In this example, the height for the second level (level 2) is given by the variable HT02 specified above.

Data Record #3: HT03: SA03: SW03: TT03: WD03: WS03: Height at level 3 Std. dev. horizontal wind at level 3 Std. Dev. w-comp. of wind at level 3 Temperature at level 3 Wind direction at level 3 Wind speed at level 3

Level 3 is the level at which the observation was taken. In this example, the height for the second level (level 3) is given by the variable HT03 specified above.

Format for Current Record: Use this field to specify the FORTRAN format for each data record. Press the Suggested button to get the suggested format. Please note that the suggested format should be checked to see if it applies to your data record, especially if some data is being skipped.

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Step 16 -

Type in the following Fortran format for each data record. Remember to highlight the data record first before typing the format.

Data Record #1: 4(I2,1X),4X,F5.1,1X,F5.1,1X,F7.3,1X,F6.2,1X,F7.2,1X,F7.2 Data Record #2: 16X,F5.1,1X,F5.1,1X,F7.3,1X,F6.2,1X,F7.2,1X,F7.2 Data Record #3: 16X,F5.1,1X,F5.1,1X,F7.3,1X,F6.2,1X,F7.2,1X,F7.2 See below a detailed description of the format for data record #1: Data Record #1: 1 3 88 1 0 10.0 48.7 0.110 0.64 317.50 0.80 Format: 4(I2,1X),4X,F5.1,1X,F5.1,1X,F7.3,1X,F6.2,1X,F7.2,1X,F7.2

4(I2,1X) = 4 times an integer number occupying 2 spaces (I2) followed by 1 empty space (1X). See below.
I2 OSDY
1

1X

I2 OSMO
3

1X

I2 OSYR
8 8

1X

I2 OSHR
1

4X,F5.1,1X,F5.1,1X = 4 empty spaces (4X) + floating point variable occupying 5 spaces (numbers and decimal point) with 1 digit after decimal (F5.1) + 1 empty space (1X) + floating point variable occupying 5 spaces (numbers and decimal point) with 1 digit after decimal (F5.1) + 1 empty space (1X).
4X F5.1 HT01
1 0 . 0

1X

F5.1 SA01
4 8 . 7

1X

F7.3,1X,F6.2,1X = floating point variable occupying 7 spaces (numbers and decimal point) with 3 digits after decimal (F7.3 SW01) + 1 empty space (1X) + floating point variable occupying 6 spaces (numbers and decimal point) with 2 digits after decimal (F6.2 TT01) + 1 empty space (1X). F7.2,1X,F7.2 = floating point variable occupying 7 spaces (numbers and decimal point) with 2 digits after decimal (F7.2 WD01) + 1 empty space (1X) + floating point variable occupying 7 spaces (numbers and decimal point) with 2 digits after decimal (F7.2 WS01)

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Additional Parameters Tab


No. of Observations per Hour: On-site data may be reported more frequently than once per hour. For observations more frequent than once per hour, you need to specify the number of observations per hour. For example, if data is reported every half-hour, specify 2 as the number of observations per hour. AERMET currently allows up to 12 observations periods per hour (i.e., every 5 minutes).
Step 17 -

Specify 1 as the number of observations per hour.

Threshold Wind Speed [m/s]: The minimum wind speed required to detect air flow varies

according to the anemometer. For NWS data, the threshold wind speed is assumed to be 1 m/s. For on-site data, you must specify the minimum detectable (threshold) wind speed of the on-site anemometer.
Step 18 -

Specify 0.3 m/s for the threshold wind speed.

Temperature Difference Measurements: If the on-site data measure differences in temperature, then these measurements should be specified. The measurements can be either between the levels where the ambient temperature is measured or independent of these levels. Up to three temperatures differences can be specified. The heights that define the temperature difference are represented by a lower height and an upper height.
Step 19 -

We are not using this option for the tutorial example.

Height Levels in Multi-Level Input Data: The measurement heights for the multi-level profile data must be either in the on-site met data file or specified here. You can also use this option to override the height variables that are specified in the on-site met data file.

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Step 20 -

Since our on-site met data file already contains the measurement heights, we do not need to specify them here. The measurement heights in the data file are represented by the variables HT01=10, HT02=50, and HT03=100.

QA On-Site Variables Tab


The quality assurance process for the on-site data identifies data that are out of range. QA is on optional process, but is recommended to identify any possible problems with the data file. Perform AUDIT (QA) on the variables specified below: Check this option if you want to perform quality assurance on the on-site variables. AERMET automatically tracks (audit) the following variables: temperature, wind speed, and wind direction. You must specify which variables are to be audited and the value for the following parameters: Boundary Type, Missing Indicator, Lower Bound and Upper Bound.

Step 21 Step 22 -

Check the Perform AUDIT option. Note that the table becomes available for use. Press the Add button. An empty row is added to the table. Click on the Variable Name cell. A button ( ) appear at the right hand side of the cell. Press the button to display the On-Site QA Variables list. Select the Temperature (TTnn) variable and press the Select button. Note that the QA parameters for this variable are placed on the table. Repeat Step 22 for the following variables: Std. dev. horizontal wind (SAnn) Wind speed (WSnn) Wind direction (WDnn)

Step 23 -

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Step 24 -

Change the QA parameters for each variable to match the values shown below. Do this by typing directly in the table.

Note that WSnn and WDnn are automatically audited by AERMET, however they were included here because the missing indicator used in the on-site met data file is not the default (999) but 999.
Step 25 -

Leave the Missing Message boxes checked. The missing message indicates that every time a bound is violated or a value is missing, a message is written to the message file (*.MSG). Depending of the number of violations, this file could become very large.

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CHAPTER 3

Using Aermet View

This chapter explains how to use Aermet View.


Contents

To accomplish this we will examine the four main windows that make up Aermet View: the Hourly Surface Data window, the Upper Air Data window, the On-Site Data window, and the Application Site window. The contents of these four windows will be explained in detail in the sections that follow.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

The Hourly Surface Data Window The Upper Air Data Window The On-Site Data Window The Application Site Window Running the U.S. EPA AERMET Program The AERMET Output Files The QA Procedure

The Hourly Surface Data Window

The Hourly Surface Data window is the first window displayed when you start a new project or open an existing one. This window contains two tabs: the Hourly Surface Data tab and the QA Surface Variables tab.

Hourly Surface Data Tab


In the Hourly Surface Data tab you define the Hourly Surface Data File Name, the Data Format, the Surface Station Information, and the Dates to be Retrieved. This tab also contains a Tip frame which presents you with helpful information on entering Hourly Surface Data. The hourly surface data are hourly observations of surface level parameters such as wind speed, temperature, and cloud cover that are used by AERMET to generate a surface file for use in AERMOD.

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Hourly Surface Data tab

The options are described below:


Hourly Surface Data File Name: This is where you specify the name and location for the

hourly surface data file. Press this button to specify the name and location of the hourly surface data file. Press this button to clear the selected file from the filename panel. Press this button to view the selected file in Windows WordPad. Press this button to access WebMET.com where you can find free met data available for downloading. Data Format: This is where you specify the file format of the Hourly Surface Data File. AERMET can read three main file formats. These are the SCRAM (MET144), CD-144, and SAMSON formats.
CD-144: This is the traditional format processed by AERMET available from the

(NCDC) in Asheville, North Carolina.

Note: If requesting hourly surface data from the NCDC, you must make a specific

request for the CD-144 format because this standard was replaced in the 1980s by the TD-3280 format.
SCRAM (MET144): This is a reduced version, fewer weather variables, of the CD-144 data. This data is available from the Support Center for Regulatory Air Models (SCRAM) section on EPAs Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS)

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Technology Transfer Network (TTN) bulletin board system (BBS) or from the SCRAM website: www.epa.gov/scram001.
SAMSON CD-ROM: This is the data that the NCDC has made available on a set of three

CD-ROMs.

CD144 FORMAT

The CD-144 format refers to the "Card Deck 144 format" available from the NCDC. This is the standard format processed by AERMET. The file is composed of one record per hour, with all weather elements reported in an 80-column card image. The format of these records is described in the Card Deck 144 WBAN Hourly Surface Observations Reference Manual (NOAA, 1970), also available from the NCDC. Data in the CD-144 format file that is checked or used by AERMET includes:
Element Surface Station Number Year Month Day Hour Ceiling Height (Hundreds of Feet) First Sky Cover Layer Second Sky Cover Layer Third Sky Cover Layer Fourth Sky Cover Layer Sign of the Dew Point ( Fahrenheit) 1st Digit of the Wind Speed (Knots) Sign of the Dry Bulb Temperature ( Fahrenheit) Sign of the Wet Bulb Temperature ( Fahrenheit) Total Sky Cover (1st digit of percentage) st Cloud Data by Layer (1 digit of percentage) st Opaque Cloud Cover (1 digit of percentage) Columns 1- 5 6- 7 8- 9 10-11 12-13 14-16 17 18 19 20 36 41 47 50 56 57 79

The data in bold may be used by AERMET, depending on the availability of on-site data. The other fields are decoded, but the weather information contained in them currently are not used by AERMET. The variables used by AERMET from the CD-144 record include the following: Surface Station Number - The WBAN number identifying the NWS surface observation station for which hourly meteorological data are input to the AERMET program. Year, Month and Day of Record - Identifies the year, month and day during which the meteorological data were observed. Only the last two digits of the year are reported.

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Hour - Identifies the hour of the meteorological data observation. Hour is based on the 24hour clock and is recorded as 00 through 23. Times are Local Standard Time (LST) and are adjusted in AERMET to the 01 - 24 clock in which hour 00 is hour 24 of the previous day. Thus, when data are retrieved from an archive file for a specific time period, the first hour is discarded since it is prior to the beginning time. Likewise, since the data for a day ends with hour 23, the last day in the extracted data file will only have 23 hours. Wind Direction - The direction from which the wind is blowing, based on the 36 point compass, e.g. 09=East, 18=South, 27=West, 36=North, 00=Calm. Wind Speed - The wind speed measured in knots (00=Calm). Sign of the Dry Bulb Temperature - The ambient temperature measured in whole degrees Fahrenheit. Cloud Cover - There are two cloud cover parameters, opaque cloud cover and total cloud cover in the CD-144 and SCRAM meteorological data files. Both parameters identify the amount of cloud cover measured in tens of percent, e.g., 0 = clear or less than 10%, 4 = 4049%, '-' = overcast or 100%. AERMET reads both fields.
SCRAM (MET144) FORMAT

This is a reduced version, with fewer weather variables, of the CD-144 data and is available for download on the SCRAM Website: www.epa.gov/scram001.
Element Surface Station Number Year Month Day Hour Ceiling Height (Hundreds of Feet) Wind Direction (Tens of Degrees) Wind Speed (Knots) Dry Bulb Temperature ( Fahrenheit) Total Cloud Cover Opaque Cloud Cover Columns 1- 5 6- 7 8- 9 10-11 12-13 14-16 17-18 19-21 22-24 25-26 27-28

The variables used by AERMET from the SCRAM record include the following: Surface Station Number - The WBAN number identifying the NWS surface observation station for which hourly meteorological data are input to the AERMET program. Year, Month and Day of Record - Identifies the year, month and day during which the meteorological data were observed. Only the last two digits of the year are reported. Hour - Identifies the hour of the meteorological data observation. Hour is based on the 24hour clock and is recorded as 00 through 23. Times are Local Standard Time (LST) and are adjusted in AERMET to the 01 - 24 clock in which hour 00 is hour 24 of the previous day.

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Thus, when data are retrieved from an archive file for a specific time period, the first hour is discarded since it is prior to the beginning time. Likewise, since the data for a day ends with hour 23, the last day in the extracted data file will only have 23 hours. Ceiling Height - The height of the cloud base above local terrain which is coded in hundreds of feet. Wind Direction - The direction from which the wind is blowing, based on the 36 point compass, e.g. 09=East, 18=South, 27=West, 36=North, 00=Calm. Wind Speed - The wind speed measured in knots (00=Calm). Dry Bulb Temperature - The ambient temperature measured in whole degrees Fahrenheit. Cloud Cover - There are two cloud cover parameters, opaque cloud cover and total cloud cover in the CD-144 and SCRAM meteorological data files. Both parameters identify the amount of cloud cover measured in tens of percent, e.g., 0 = clear or less than 10%, 4 = 4049%, '-' = overcast or 100%. AERMET reads both fields.
SAMSON FORMAT

With the advent of CD-ROM for the personal computer, large amounts of data can be stored in small amounts of space. NCDC has made available solar and meteorological data for the first order stations in the United States for the period 1961-1990 on a set of three CD-ROMs, referred to as the SAMSON data. AERMET processes the data retrieved from these CD-ROMs. AERMET cannot access the data directly from a SAMSON CD-ROM. Rather, the user must run the software provided with the data to retrieve the station(s), period(s) of time and variables for the site and period to be modeled. The software is a DOS-based, interactive graphical interface and is user-friendly in its usage. The output files are written in an ASCII file on the user's local drive. The software used to extract data from the CD-ROMs can retrieve multiple years of data for a single station and save it in the same file. However, AERMET expects a maximum of one year of data in a data file retrieved from CD-ROM. The reason for this restriction is explained below. Retrieving data from the CD-ROM is completely under the control of the user. When data are retrieved from the CD-ROMs, the user has the option to specify which variables to retrieve from a list of 21 variables stored for each station. At a minimum, the ceiling height, wind direction and speed, dry bulb temperature, opaque and total cloud cover, and station pressure should be retrieved. These variables result in an ASCII file of about 400 Kb for one year of data. If all of the variables are retrieved, then a file size of about 1.2 Mb is created, although the file size will vary because precipitation data, in the last field, is only reported if there was precipitation for the hour, making some records longer than others. When the data are retrieved from the CD-ROM, two records are written at the beginning of the file that identify the station (first record) and the variables retrieved (second record). AERMET processes both of these records to obtain information about the station (e.g., latitude and longitude) and to determine how to process the data that follow. It is imperative that the user not alter or delete these records. These two records begin with the tilde character (~). If more than one year of data are retrieved from the CD-ROMs, these two records appear before each year in
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the file. When the second set of headers is encountered, AERMET will print a warning in the message file and continue processing data. It is recommended that the user restrict data retrieved from CD-ROM to one station and one year per file. AERMET examines the second record to determine if the variables retrieved from the CD-ROM are sufficient to process the entire file according to the user's responses on how the output is expected to be used. If there are insufficient data, then AERMET writes an error message and stops processing. The user must either select a different processing option, or return to the CDROMs and retrieve the data once again, making sure to retrieve all of the necessary variables to generate the meteorological data output file. The header records are followed by the data records. There is one record for each hour of the time period the user retrieved. Unlike the CD-144 format which reports the hour on the 00 23 clock, the hour is reported on the 01 - 24 clock. The time adjustment that AERMET must go through for CD-144 data is not necessary with SAMSON data. The first record in the file retrieved from the SAMSON CD-ROMs contains station data. The format of this record is:
Columns 001 002-006 008-029 031-032 033-036 039-044 039 040-041 043-044 047-053 047 048-050 052-053 056-059 Element Indicator WBAN Number City State Time Zone Latitude Definition ~ to indicate a header record Station number identifier City where station is located State where station is located The number of hours by which the local standard time lags or leads Universal Time. Station latitude N = North of equator Degrees Minutes Station longitude W = West, E = East Degrees Minutes Elevation of the station in meters above sea level.

Longitude

Elevation

The FORTRAN format of this record is: (1X,A5,1X,A22,1X,A2,1X,I3,2X,A1,I2,1X,I2,2X,A1,I3,1X,I2,2X,I4) Each variable is represented by a position number. This position number always corresponds to that variable, no matter how many or how few variables are retrieved. The second record contains the list of variables (by a position number) that appear in the data file. There is no particular format; the variable number appears above the column of data it represents with at least one space (and usually many more) between the position numbers. The third and subsequent records contain the weather elements retrieved from the SAMSON CD-ROMs. The data are free format, i.e., there is at least one space between each element in the record. The year, month, day, hour and observation indicators always appear on each record. These are followed by the

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variables retrieved by the user. If all the variables were retrieved, they would appear in the following order:

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Description Year, month, day, hour (LST), observation indicator Extraterrestrial horizontal radiation Extraterrestrial direct normal radiation Global horizontal radiation Direct normal radiation Diffuse horizontal radiation Total cloud cover Opaque cloud cover Dry bulb temperature Dew point temperature Relative humidity Station pressure Wind direction Wind speed Visibility Ceiling height Present weather Precipitable water Broadband aerosol optical depth Snow depth Days since last snowfall Hourly precipitation amount and flag

The online help that accompanies the CD-ROMs contains a complete discussion of these variables, including the units, missing value indicators and any special considerations or comments.
TD-3280 FORMAT

This is the data that is available from the NCDC on magnetic tape. This format is primarily for users who run AERMET on computer platforms that can access magnetic tape drives, such as Digital Equipment Corporations VAX computers. The only data that is considered is the NWS data; no attempt is made to read on-site data directly from magnetic tape. For more information on how to use the TD-3280 data on magnetic tape, please see the AERMET Users Guide from the U.S. EPA.
Surface Station Information: This is where the surface station information is entered.

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Surface Station Information

For the location of the hourly surface data measurement station, the options are the following:
Station ID: This is the five digit code that identifies the surface station. This code will be

read directly from the surface data file and be automatically inserted into the Station ID box.
Search NWS Stations: This tool allows you to search a list of all the NWS Surface Stations from which you can select one closest to you. The list of NWS surface stations, provided by Aermet View, was downloaded from the EPA SCRAM Website. Latitude: This is the latitude of the surface station in decimal degrees. Positive for stations NORTH of the equator. Longitude: This is the longitude of the surface station in decimal degrees. Positive for stations WEST of Greenwich. Adjustment to Local Time: This is the number of hours required to convert the time of

each data record on the surface met data to local standard time (LST). If the hourly surface observations were reported in local standard time than no conversion is necessary and the option 0 (No Conversion) must be selected. Since most formats reporting hourly surface observations use local standard time, the conversion is usually 0, which is the default value. If data are reported in GMT, then the number of time zones west (positive number) or east (negative number) of Greenwich should be specified. Aermet View supplies a list of all the time zones (-12 to 12). To select the time zone, click on the down arrow and select the time zone from the list. The values for Latitude and Longitude can be automatically set by selecting one of the NWS surface met stations from the NWS Stations list. To display this dialog box, click the Search NWS Stations... button. Highlight the station where the hourly surface observations were taken and then double-click or press the Select button. The selected station information will be set up automatically. If you select the Latitude and Longitude from the NWS list, then Aermet View will place the Station Name, Station State, and Station No. on the panels automatically for your reference. This information is not used to run EPA's AERMET. If you input the Latitude, Longitude and Time Zone in the text boxes, then the Station Name, Station State, and Station No. panels will be blank.

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Dates to be Retrieved: This is where you specify the time period over which data is to be retrieved.

Dates to be Retrieved

Press the Dates button to open the Dates dialog box in where you can specify the data period to be retrieved.

Note: The data period to be processed must be continuous. In other words, only one continuous period of time may be specified. If you need to model different time periods within the same data file, you must make separate projects for each of those periods.

The QA Surface Variables Tab


In the QA Surface Variables tab you may select one or more variables to be audited. During the quality assessment (QA) process, audited variables are checked as being missing or outside a range of acceptable values. By double clicking on a specific variable, you will be able to check the default ranges, description, units, and missing indicators for all variables. There is also a Tip frame that provides helpful information on completing the QA tab.

QA Surface Variables tab

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To select a variable to include or exclude in the QA, click on it to highlight it. Then press the or ) to move it into the include or exclude list. To move more than arrow button ( one variable at once, select a number of variables by holding down the CTRL key and clicking each of the variables of interest. Then press the arrow button to move them. If you want to move all of the variables in one list to the other, press the double arrow button ( There are 22 QA variables. They are described in the table below: or ).

Hourly Surface QA Variable Information

The QA is an optional process, but is recommended to identify any potential problems in the data. For more information about the QA procedure see the section entitled The QA Procedure.

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The Upper Air Data Window

The Upper Air Data window is where you specify information about the upper air soundings. This window contains two tabs: the Upper Air Data tab and the QA Upper Air Variables tab.

Upper Air Data Tab


In the Upper Air Data tab you define the Upper Air Data File Name, the Data Format, the Upper Air Station Information, and the Dates to be Retrieved. This tab also contains a Tip frame which presents you with helpful information on entering upper air data. The upper air data file provides information on the vertical structure of the atmosphere. This includes the height, pressure, dry bulb temperature, and relative humidity. Most countries in the world have an upper air observation program with upper air sounding stations.

Upper Air Data tab

The options are described below:


Upper Air Data File Name: This is where you specify the name and location of the upper air

data file. Press this button to specify the name and location of the upper air file. Press this button to clear the selected file from the filename panel. Press this button to view the selected upper air file in Windows WordPad.

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Press this button to access WebMET.com where you can find free met data available for downloading.
Data Format: The Aermet View upper air data file must be in NCDC TD-6201 format. It can be defined as Fixed Length or Variable Length. Select the radio button for the

appropriate format. The NCDC TD-6201 format is that provided by the NWS. However, non-NWS data can be used if the user can reformat it into a format that is ready for Stage 1 QA. The format is explained below: Each physical record for one upper air sounding consists of 2876 characters. One physical record is arranged in the following format:
Columns 1-32 33-69 70-106 107-143 etc Element Upper Air Sounding Identifier 36 characters per sounding level 36 characters per sounding level 36 characters per sounding level to a maximum of 79 levels.

If there are less than 79 sounding levels, then missing data indicators are used to fill out the record so that the physical record length is constant for all observation periods. If there are more than 79 sounding levels, then a second record is created for levels 80 to 158, a third is created for levels 158 to 237 and so on.

Note 1: Upper air data stored on NCDC diskettes is of fixed length format and can contain

up to 200 levels of sounding spanning three physical records per diskette.

Note 2: Currently AERMET does not use information above approximately 5000 meters.

Therefore, AERMET only processes the first physical record (containing up to 79 sounding levels) in an upper air data file because the measurements at the 79th level are generally above 16,000 meters.

Note 3: The upper air data are generally collected twice-daily, at 0000 Greenwich Mean

Time (GMT) and 1200 GMT (these times are also referred to as 00Z and 12Z, respectively). However, AERMET has been designed to accept 24 soundings per day. Note though, for AERMET to correctly read the file, a minimum of one header record consisting of three asterisks (in columns 1-3) must appear on a separate record before the data (these asterisks inform AERMET that there are no more headers to process). Upper Air Station Information and Location: This frame identifies the name and location of the station where the upper air soundings were taken, you can specify the Station ID, Name, State, Latitude, Longitude, and Adjustment to Local Time.

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Upper Air Station Information

The options for the Upper Air Surface Station properties are the following:
Station ID: This is the eight digit code that identifies the upper air station. This code will

be read directly from the surface data file and be automatically inserted into the Station ID box.
Search NWS Stations: Displays the Search NWS Stations dialog box with a list of

the NWS met stations. Highlight the station where the hourly surface observations were taken and then double-click or press the Select button. The selected station information will be set up automatically.
Latitude: This is the latitude of the surface station in decimal degrees.

Positive for

stations NORTH of the equator.


Longitude: This is the longitude of the surface station in decimal degrees. Positive for stations WEST of Greenwich.

Note: The information provided on the NWS Stations list is read from the file MIXSTAT.RV_. More stations can be added to this file. If doing so, make sure to not change the placement of the elements on the columns since Aermet View reads this file based on the column numbers. Dates to be Retrieved: This is where you specify the time period over which data is to be

retrieved.

Dates to be Retrieved

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Press the Dates button to open the Dates dialog box in where you can specify the data period to be retrieved.

Note 1: The data period to be processed must be continuous. In other words, only one

continuous period of time may be specified. If you need to model different time periods within the same data file, you must make separate projects for each of those periods.

The QA Upper Air Variables Tab


In the QA Upper Air Variables tab you may select one or more variables to be audited. During the quality assessment (QA) process, audited variables are checked as being missing or outside a range of acceptable values. By double clicking on a specific variable, you will be able to check the default ranges, description, units, and missing indicators for all variables. There is also a Tip frame that provides information to help you complete the QA tab.

QA Upper Air Variables Tab

To select a variable to include or exclude in the QA, click on it to highlight it. Then press the arrow button ( or ) to move it into the include or exclude list. To move more than one variable at once, select a number of variables by holding down the CTRL key and clicking each of the variables of interest. Then press the arrow button to move them. If you want to move all of the variables in one list to the other, press the double arrow button ( There are 10 Upper Air QA variables. They are described in the table below: or ).

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Upper Air QA Variable Information

The QA is an optional process, but is recommended to identify any potential problems in the data. For more information about the QA procedure see the section entitled The QA Procedure.

The On-Site Data Window

On-site data is optional. On-site data are assumed to be from one or more levels of an instrumented tower, a remote sensor (e.g. sodar) or a combination of the two, and possibly with additional near-surface data, such as insolation and net radiation. This type of data can be used to provide better estimates of the boundary layer parameters. There is no standard archive format or content for on-site data. After processing on-site data, AERMET will generate a message file (ONSITE.MSG) and a summary report file (ONSITE.RPT). The user can view these files in Windows WordPad by selecting View | Other File from the Aermet View menu and selecting the ONSITE.MSG or ONSITE.RPT file for the particular study. Both files will be located in the study folder. The On-Site Data window consists of four tabs: the On-Site Data tab, the Data Records tab, the Additional Parameters tab, and the QA On-Site Variables tab.

The On-Site Data Tab


In the On-Site Data tab you define the On-Site Data File Name, the On-Site Station Information, and the Dates to be Retrieved. This tab also contains a Tip frame which presents you with helpful information on entering On-Site Data.

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On-Site Data tab

The On-Site Data Tab options are described below:


On-Site Data File Name: This is where you specify the name and location of the On-Site

Met Data File. Press this button to specify the name and location of the on-site met data file. Press this button to clear the selected file from the filename panel. Press this button to view the selected file in Windows WordPad. On-Site Station Information: The on-site station information includes the Station ID, Name, State, Latitude, Longitude, and Adjustment to Local Time relative to Greenwich Mean Time.

Upper Air Station Information

Because there is no standard format for the on-site data, all the Station Information is entered by the user.

Note: The station ID must be an integer with a maximum length of eight characters. If your

on-site station does not have an ID, you can type a dummy ID (e.g., 00099999).
Dates to be Retrieved: This is where you specify the time period over which data is to be

retrieved.

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Dates to be Retrieved

Press the Dates button to open the Dates dialog box in where you can specify the data period to be retrieved.

Note 1: The data period to be processed must be continuous. In other words, only one continuous period of time may be specified. If you need to model different time periods within the same data file, you must make separate projects for each of those periods.

The Data Records Tab


In the Data Records tab you enter information about the format of the on-site data. This includes the Number of Data Records per Observation Period, the Number of Measurement Heights in Multi-Level Input Data, a list of Variables to Read, and the Format.

Data Records Tab

The options are described below:


No. of Data Records per Observation Period: Select the number of records per observation

period by entering the number in the appropriate text box or by using the up and down arrows beside the box. Each record is one line of data. The records will show up in the Data Records dialog box. There can be up to 20 records per observation period

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Note: Since the maximum length of the FORTRAN statement that describes the format of

the variables is limited to 80 characters, more than one record may be necessary to define all the variables in one observation period at a given level. For example, it is possible to have three data records per observation period and only two levels.
No. of Measurement Heights in Multi-Level Input Data: Select the number of measurement

heights if you have multi-level data by entering the number in the appropriate text box or by using the up and down arrows beside the box. Variables to Read for Current Record: This is where you specify which on-site variables you want to include in the data processing. Press Edit to open a list of onsite variables to choose from. There are two types of on-site variables: single-level variables and multi-level variables. They are described in the sections below.

Single-Level Variables

Single-level measurements are usually observed near the earth's surface. Examples of single-level variables are net radiation and sensible heat flux. On-site observations of mixing heights are also included in the list of single-level measurements even though they may not be near-surface for a highly convective atmosphere. There are 24 single-level variables. They are described in the table below:

Single-level On-Site Variables

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Multi-Level Variables

The multi-level variables can be reported at multiple heights and can come from an instrumented meteorological tower, a remote sensor (e.g., sodar or lidar), or any other meteorological instrumentation that can report data at several levels in the atmosphere (e.g., tethered balloon). Examples of multi-level variables are temperature and wind speed. The complete name of multilevel variables depends on the level at which they are observed. Each variable is identified by a 4-character name. The first two characters identify the meteorological variable and the last two characters are numeric and identify the level from which the data are reported. There are 15 multi-level variables. They are described in the table below:

Multi-Level On-Site Variables

You can select the variables to be read by pressing the Edit button beside the Variables to Read in Current Record dialog box. This will open the On-Site Variables window where you can select the variables of interest.

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On-Site Variables Selection Window

To select a variable to include or exclude, click on it to highlight it. Then press the arrow button ( or ) to move it into the include or exclude list. To move more than one variable at once, select a number of variables by holding down the CTRL key and clicking each of the variables of interest. Then press the arrow button to move them. If you want to move all of the variables in one list to the other, press the double arrow button ( or ).

Format for Current Record: The format of the variables in each data record is specified by a FORTRAN format string, enclosed in parentheses. The format must comply with all the rules of syntax for constructing a FORMAT statement and the parentheses are mandatory. Refer to any introductory text on FORTRAN programming or compiler manual for the FORTRAN syntax rules. Aermet View will provide a suggested FORTRAN format string based on the current record. This string will normally need to be edited so that the format of the variables is correctly defined. The suggested format can be selected by pressing the Suggested button. Modifications to the FORTRAN format string can made directly in the dialog box. If the current record should not be included in the data processing, you can have it skipped by pressing the Skip Record button or entering / in the dialog box.

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Note: The same format used to read the original on-site data file is also used to write the

QA file. If some variables are skipped (using the X and T descriptors) or entire lines of data are skipped (using the /), then the QA output file will contain corresponding blank fields and/or blank lines. The U.S. EPA defines the following rules for the format of on-site data: 1) The data for one observation period can be one or more data records, and the records for the period must be contiguous (for this tutorial, refer to this as an "observation group"); 2) There can be up to 12 equally-spaced observation periods per hour, i.e., as frequent as every 5 minutes (see the keyword OBS/HOUR in Section 4 for a discussion on how to provide AERMET with the frequency of on-site observations); 3) The same set of variables must appear for all observation periods but not all the same variables must appear on every record in the observation period; 4) The date and time information for each observation must be contained in the first record of the group; these may occur in any order within the first record, and must be integer format; on-site meteorological variables can appear on the first record; 5) The variables present within each observation should be a subset of those listed in Appendix B, Tables B-3a and B-3b (although the user can direct AERMET to skip fields); 6) Single-level variables (e.g., heat flux and observed mixing heights) must be read before any multi-level variables (e.g., winds and temperature); these two types of variables are described below; 7) The file must be ASCII and it must be in a form that can be read using Fortran FORMAT statements. AERMET does not support free format read (i.e., using the asterisk to define the format) at this time; 8) Blanks in the format specification must be avoided because AERMET recognizes blanks as field delimiters on keywords; 9) The list-directed format (specified by an asterisk, *) cannot be used to direct AERMET to read the data. (U.S. EPA AERMET Users Guide DRAFT, 1999)

Note: There can be a maximum 20 of data records per observation period and a maximum of 20 variables on any one data record. Recall that the maximum length of the FORTRAN format statement is limited to 80 characters.

Once the format of all the data records per observation period has been defined, AERMET will process the rest of the data file according to this structure unless it encounters a change in the structure.

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The Additional Parameters Tab


The Additional Parameters tab allows you to define additional on-site data in order to completely define the on-site variables which are measured. The options in the Additional Parameters tab are described below:

Additional Parameters tab

The Additional Parameters tab options are described below: No. of Observations per Hour: This is the number of observation periods per hour to a maximum of 12. Threshold Wind Speed: The minimum detectable wind speed is instrument-dependent and anemometer capabilities may vary. Therefore, the user is required to enter a threshold wind speed below which AERMET treats any wind speeds in the on-site data that as calm winds.
Temperature Difference Measurements: This frame is used to define the height(s) for temperature difference data, if it exists in the data file.

Height Levels in Multi-Level Input Data: Enter here the heights of the different levels of on-site measurements if the heights are not included on each of the multi-level data records.

The QA On-Site Variables Tab


In the QA On-Site Variables tab you may select one or more variables to be audited. During the quality assessment (QA) process, audited variables are checked as being missing or outside a range of acceptable values. You can change the boundary type, upper and lower bounds, and missing indicator values of the on-site QA variables from the default values. There is also a Tip frame that provides helpful information on completing the QA tab.

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QA On-Site Variables tab

The options in the QA On-Site Variables tab are described below: Perform AUDIT (QA) on the variables specified below: Click in this box if you want AERMET to perform a quality assessment on the variables specified in the QA list.
Variable Name: The variable name can be chosen from the list of QA On-Site Variables. To

select a variable, click in the Variable Name box and press the button or double click in the Variable Name box to open the QA On-Site Variables Selection window. This is the window in which you can select the variable(s) of interest. To select a group of consecutive variables, hold down the SHIFT key and click the variables at the beginning and the end of the group. The selected variables will be highlighted. To select a group of variables that are not beside each other on the list, hold down the CTRL key and click on the variables of interest to highlight them. Once you have selected all the on-site variables to be QAed, press the Select button to add them to the list of QA variables in the QA On-Site Variables tab.

QA On-Site Variables Selection Window

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There are 24 single-level and 15 multi-level QA variables. They are described in the Data
Records section above.

Boundary Type: Click in the Boundary Type box to change the boundary to Exclude (<) or Include (<==). The two types are described below:
Exclude (<): This means that the upper and lower bounds are not included in the

range of the variable. Include (<==): This means that the upper and lower bounds are included in the range of the variable.

Missing Indicator: The missing indicator is set of digits that occur in the data file to indicate a missing value for the particular variable. Click in the Missing Indicator box to make the text available for modifications. Lower Bound: This is the lower limit for the range of the variable of interest. To modify the lower bound, click in the box and type in a new value. Upper Bound: This is the upper limit for the range of the variable of interest. To modify the upper bound, click in the box and type in a new value. Missing Message: When this box is checked, AERMET suppresses the message that data are missing for variables being audited during the QA process. This keyword is useful in reducing the size of the message file if an audited variable is missing most of the time. For more information about the QA procedure see the section entitled The QA Procedure.

The Application Site Window

The Application Site window is where site-specific characteristics about the underlying surface where AERMOD is to be applied are defined. These data are used to define the boundary layer, to calculate the elevation of the sun, to calculate sunrise and sunset times, and other parameters that are required for AERMOD. The Application Site window is made up of two tabs: the Application Site tab and the Sectors & Surface Parameters tab.

The Application Site Tab


The Application Site tab is where you specify the location of the application site. This is also where you provide AERMET with information on dealing with missing data in estimating the boundary layer, the anemometer height, and whether or not to randomize wind directions. Since the Application Site is likely to be different from either of the meteorological sites where the hourly surface data and the upper air soundings were collected, these data become extremely important. This tab also contains a Tip frame, which presents useful information on completing the Application Site tab.
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Application Site Tab

The options are described in detail below: Site ID: This option identifies the site to which the AERMET runstream is being applied. Although the site identifier is not used by AERMET, it is required. Time Zone: This is the time zone of the application site. The time zone should match the value entered in the Upper Air Data tab. Aermet View supplies a list of all the time zones (12 to 12) with associated cities that are in that time zone. To select the time zone, click on the down arrow and select the time zone from the list. Latitude: This is the latitude of the surface station in decimal degrees. stations NORTH of the equator. Positive for

Longitude: This is the longitude of the surface station in decimal degrees. Positive for stations WEST of Greenwich.

Note 1: The latitude and longitude entered here are used to calculate the elevation of the sun and the times of sunrise and sunset. As such, it is very important to specify the latitude and longitude for the application site.

Note 2: Since the application site is often different from the meteorological sites where the hourly surface data and the upper air soundings were measured, it is common that the latitude and longitude are different, while still in the same time zone as the upper air sounding station.

Estimate Boundary Layer Parameters Using NWS Data when On-Site Data Missing: This option directs AERMET to use the hourly surface and upper air data to estimate the boundary layer parameters when on-site data are missing or if some of the variables required for the computations are missing. Checking this option also directs AERMET to use the
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hourly surface and upper air data to generate the wind and/or temperature profile(s) if the onsite profiles of wind or temperature are missing.

Estimate Boundary Layer Parameters Frame

NWS Additional Parameters: There are some parameters that are required for AERMET to

perform calculations but may not appear in any of the data files. Two of these parameters are specified in the NWS Additional Parameters tab.

NWS Additional Parameters Frame

The two options are described below:


Randomize NWS Wind Directions: NWS wind directions are recorded to the nearest 10 degrees. When this box is checked, AERMET randomizes these directions.

The wind directions are randomized to avoid a bias toward the cardinal compass points (N, S, E, and W). They are randomized for each 10 degree sector to one degree increments. A bias would occur for the unrandomized wind directions because three 10-degree sectors would contribute to the N, S, E, and W sector statistics (e.g., 350, 360 and 10 degrees for the north sector), while only two 10degree sectors would contribute to the other 22.5 degree sectors.
Anemometer Height: Many computations in AERMET require the height at which a

variable was measured. Enter the anemometer height in meters. If on-site data are present, these heights may already be specified. Then the user should make sure that the anemometer height value matches that of the on-site data.

The Sectors and Surface Parameters Tab


The Sectors & Surface Parameters tab is where you specify the wind direction sectors and sitespecific surface characteristics about the underlying surface where AERMOD is to be applied. The sectors and surface parameters are discussed below:

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Sectors & Surface Parameters Tab

Wind Direction Sectors: This parameter defines the number of contiguous, non-overlapping wind direction sectors that define unique upwind surface characteristics. The following properties of wind sectors must be true: The sectors are defined clockwise as the direction from which the wind is blowing, with north at 360. The sectors must cover the full circle so that the end value of one sector matches the beginning of the next sector. The beginning direction is considered part of the sector, while the ending direction is not.

Uniform / Non-Uniform: If the default, Uniform, is selected, the wind direction sectors are divided into even sections as shown in the first two figures below.

Examples of Wind Direction Sectors with Uniform Wind Direction Sectors

If Non-Uniform is selected, the user can specify the end angles of each sector. The wind direction sectors may then be of varying sizes as shown in the figure below. The end angle of the last sector is always 360.

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Examples of Wind Direction Sectors with Non-Uniform Wind Direction Sectors

Specify Surface Parameters for Each Sector: For each wind sector, the underlying sitespecific surface characteristics need to be defined. These characteristics may also vary with the time of year. The parameters that must be defined are: the midday albedo, the daytime Bowen ratio, and the surface roughness length. The options are described below:
Time Period: The frequency with which the site parameters may change can be

Annually, Seasonally, or Monthly. The seasons are defined as:


Winter: December, January, and February Spring: March, April, and May Summer: June, July, and August Autumn: September, October, and November

Midday Albedo: The albedo is the fraction of total incident solar radiation reflected by

the surface back to space without absorption. Typical values range from 0.1 for thick deciduous forests to 0.9 for fresh snow. You can type the albedo value into the Albedo text box. You can also select an albedo value from the Albedo for Natural Ground button appears. Covers tip window. When you click in the Albedo text box, the Click on this button to open the Albedo for Natural Ground Covers tip window which provides you with a list of albedo values for various types of natural ground covers for different times of the year. You can choose values from the tip window by clicking on a selection and pressing the Select button.

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Typical Albedo Values of Natural Ground Covers

Bowen Ratio: The Bowen ratio is an indicator of surface moisture. It is the ratio of the

sensible heat flux to the latent heat flux. The Bowen ratio is used to determine the planetary boundary layer parameters for convective conditions. During the day, the Bowen ratio usually remains fairly constant and ranges from about 0.1 over water to 10.0 over desert at midday. You can type the Bowen ratio directly into the Bowen Ratio text box. You can also select a value from the Daytime Bowen Ratio tip window. When you click in the button appears. Click on this button to open the Daytime Bowen Ratio text box, the Bowen Ratio tip window which provides you with a list of Bowen ratios for various types of ground covers under different conditions and for different seasons. You can choose values from the tip window by clicking on a selection and pressing the Select button

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Typical Daytime Bowen Ratios

Surface Roughness: The surface roughness length is the height at which the mean horizontal wind speed is zero. Values range from less than 0.001 meter over a calm water surface to 1.0 meter or more over a forest or urban area.

You can type the surface roughness length directly into the Surface Roughness text box. You can also select a value from the Surface Roughness Length tip window. When you click in the Surface Roughness text box, the button appears. Click on this button to open the Surface Roughness Length tip window which provides you with a list of surface roughness lengths for various types of ground covers during different seasons. You can choose values from the tip window by clicking on a selection and pressing the Select button.

Typical Surface Roughness Lengths

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Running the U.S. EPA AERMET Program

The AERMET program runs in three stages. The Aermet View interface prepares the meteorological data so that the three stages are all executed with one statement of the Run command. This section describes the three AERMET processing stages and how to run AERMET using Aermet View.

Stage 1
Stage 1 extracts hourly surface data and upper air soundings from data files and processes the data through quality assessment checks on variables of interest. Data extraction is generally a one-time activity, while the QA may be performed several times if the QA identifies problems with the data. The executable for Stage 1 processing is STAGE1N2.EXE.

Stage 2
Stage 2 processing combines the different sources of data into one file composed of blocks of 24hour data. The 24-hour blocks begin with hour 1 and ends with hour 24. If any input to this stage of processing are physically missing for the hour, then the meteorological variables for that hour are represented by the appropriate missing value indicator. The executable for Stage 2 is also STAGE1N2.EXE

Stage 3
In Stage 3, the boundary layer parameters are estimated for use by dispersion models. The input file to Stage 3 is the merged data collected in Stage 2. Stage 3 creates the two output files for AERMOD, the Surface File and the Profile File. The executable for Stage 3 is STAGE3.EXE. A flowsheet depicting the Aermet processing stages is shown below.

AERMET Processing Stages (Source: U.S. EPA Users Guide for AERMET DRAFT)

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The Project Status Dialog Box


The Project Status dialog box provides you with a concise way of checking that Aermet View has all the information required to run AERMET. To display the Project Status dialog box, do the following:

1. Click the [Run] menu toolbar button 2. Select Run from the menu.

or

The Project Status dialog box is made up of two tabs, the Status tab and the Details tab. The Status Tab displays the name and path of the two output files for the current Aermet View project.

Project Status dialog box - Status Tab

If your project is complete the following message will appear at the bottom of the Status tab:

If your project is incomplete, a similar message directs you to the Details tab where Aermet View shows you the missing information.

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Project Status dialog box Details Tab

On the bottom panel of the Project Status dialog box there are a series of buttons. The function of each one of these buttons is explained below: ....................... Click here to get help on the Project Status dialog box. ....................... Click here to run the U.S. EPA AERMET program. ........................ Click here to close the Project Status dialog box.

Running AERMET
When the data input for your project is complete, you can run EPAs AERMET. To run EPAs AERMET, do the following:

1. Click the Run menu toolbar button ( then click on the Run button.

) to display the Project Status dialog box, and

2. After you have clicked the Run button, a window appears on your screen, to provide status information about the simulation. When the execution of AERMET is completed this window automatically closes. 3. You can review the contents of the AERMET output files by selecting View | Output File > from the menu and then selecting either Surface File or Profile File.

Runtime Error Messages


There are several conditions under which AERMET may write warning and error messages. Warning messages are written to the message file (PROJECT.MSG) and AERMET continues

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processing the data. On the other hand, error conditions are fatal; they stop the AERMET processing run, and a single error message is written to the message file. For a detailed description of the warning and error messages generated by AERMET, see the online help in Aermet View.

The AERMET Output Files


There are two output files that are generated by AERMET: the Surface File (PROJECT.SFC) and the Profile File (PROJECT.PFL). Both are required by AERMOD. The surface file contains observed and calculated surface variables, one record per hour, of hourly boundary layer parameters estimates. The profile contains the observations made at each level of an on-site tower, or the one level observations taken from the hourly surface data and upper air data, one record per hour. The format of the two files is discussed below.

The Surface File


The surface file is distinguished by its extension (*.SFC). There are no processing headers in the surface file, although there is a single record at the beginning of the file with the boundary layer parameters that identifies the sites that were used in the processing. The FORTRTAN format of the surface file is as follows:
Header record:

READ( ) FORMAT

latitude, longitude, UA identifier, SF identifier, OS identifier, Version date ( 2(2X,A8), 8X,' UA_ID: ',A8, ' SF_ID: ',A8, ' OS_ID: ',A8, T85, 'VERSION:', A6 )

where latitude................latitude specified in Stage 3 longitude .............longitude specified in Stage 3 UA identifier .......station identifier for upper air data SF identifier .......station identifier for hourly surface observations OS identifier .......on-site identifier Version date .......AERMET version date; this date appears in the banner on each page of the summary reports
Data records:

READ( ) FORMAT

year, month, day, j_day, hour, H, u , w , VPTG, PBL, SBL, L, z0 , B0 , r, Ws , Wd , zref, temp, z temp (3(I2,1X), I3,1X, I2,1X, F6.1,1X, 3(F6.3,1X), 2(F5.0,1X), F8.1,1X, F6.3,1X, 2(F6.2,1X), F7.2,1X, F5.0, 3(1X,F6.1))

where: j_day ................... Julian date H ........................sensible heat flux (W/m2)


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u* ........................surface friction velocity (m/s) w* ........................convective velocity scale (m/s) VPTG ..................vertical potential temperature gradient above PBL PBL.....................height of convectively-generated boundary layer (m) SBL .....................height of mechanically-generated boundary layer (m) L ........................Monin-Obukhov length (m) Z0 ........................surface roughness length (m) B0 ........................Bowen ratio r ..........................Albedo Ws .......................wind speed (m/s) Wd .......................wind direction (degrees) Zref .......................reference height for Ws and Wd (m) temp ....................temperature (K) ztemp .....................reference height for temp (m)

The Profile File


The profile is distinguished by its extension (*.PFL). As with the surface file, there are no processing headers in the profile. The profile file does not have a record at the beginning of the file that identifies the sites that were used in the processing. It contains the data taken at different measurement levels or the one level observation taken from the hourly surface data and upper air data. The profile has the following FORTRAN format: READ( ) FORMAT where: height .................. measurement height (m) top.......................1, if this is the last (highest) level for this hour, or 0 otherwise WDnn .................wind direction at the current level (degrees from north) WSnn ..................wind speed at the current level (m/s) TTnn...................temperature at the current level (C) SAnn...................standard deviation, horizontal wind (degrees) SWnn ..................standard deviation, w-comp of wind (m/s) year, month, day , hour, height, top, WDnn, WSnn, TTnn, SAnn, SWnn (4(I2,1X), F6.1,1X, I1,1X, F5.0,1X, F7.2,1X, F7.1, 1X,F6.1, 1X,F7.2)

Note 1: The Met View utility displays the surface file and the profile file in a grid format

allowing easy visualization and verification of the pre-processed met files. To access this utility select Utilities | Met View from the menu and then select Surface File or Profile File. You can also press the Met View menu toolbar button.

Met View toolbar button

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Chapter 3 Using Aermet View

The QA Procedure

The main quality assessment procedures are similar for all types of data. Each variable is checked to see if it is missing and if not missing, the value is checked to see if it is between the lower and upper bounds. The QA variables for each pathway are listed in tables under the appropriate headings in this users guide. The information about each type of variable includes their units, default bounds and missing value codes. In a QA assessment, a violation does not necessarily indicate an error in the data. For example, it could mean the bounds are not reasonable for a particular time of year or location. It is up to the user to determine if the reported violations constitute errors in the data. For NWS hourly surface observations, several additional checks between variables are performed. NWS surface data are checked for the following: The dew-point temperature exceeding dry-bulb temperature; A zero wind speed, indicating calm conditions, but a non-zero wind direction, indicating noncalm conditions, or vice versa; The number of occurrences of calm wind conditions; Whether the height levels reported in the met data are within 50 meters of those estimated by AERMET using the hypsometric equation and; The gradient in the ambient temperature (UALR), dew point temperature (UADD), wind speed shear (UASS), and wind direction shear (UADS) per 100 meters height in the upper air soundings exceeding set bounds.

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References

References
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1998. Users Guide for the AERMOD METEOROLOGICAL PREPROCESSOR (AERMET). U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC.

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