SMOKE v2.1 is primarily an emissions processing system and not an emission inventory preparation system. This means that its main purpose is to provide an efficient tool for converting emission inventory data into the formatted emission input files required by an AQM. However, for mobile and biogenic sources, SMOKE does offer emission inventory preparation functions. For mobile sources, SMOKE computes an emission inventory from mobile-source activity data, using emission factors from the MOBILE6 model. Previous versions of SMOKE (version 1.4 and below) supported the MOBILE5b model. For biogenic sources, SMOKE includes both the BEIS2 and BEIS3 models for computation of hour-specific, meteorology-based biogenic emissions from vegetation and soils.
The SMOKE modeling system can be run using either of two approaches. The most common method is through the use of UNIX scripts, which includes the Linux versions of the UNIX operating system. The second approach is to run SMOKE using the MIMS interface, which is a general-purpose graphical user interface (GUI).
Below, we summarize the major features of SMOKE v2.1.
Supports Inventory Data Analyzer (IDA) formats, Emissions Modeling System, ‘95 (EMS-95) format, and a SMOKE one-record-per-line (ORL) format. The criteria and PM National Emissions Inventory (NEI) data are most readily converted to the IDA formats or ORL format. The toxics inventory must be converted to the ORL format.
Supports both gridded and county-total land use for biogenic emissions modeling.
Includes the BEIS2 or BEIS3 system (and the user can choose which he or she wants).
Includes a driver for MOBILE6 runs and features to improve run time when using MOBILE6 for large domains and long time periods (can support annual, national runs using MOBILE6).
Multicountry capability, up to 10 countries.
Lower disk space requirements over other emissions processing software for the same level of detail in the emissions.
Any pollutant can be processed by the system.
Any chemical mechanism can be used to partition pollutants to model species, as long as the appropriate input data are supplied.
Supports Lambert conformal, lat-lon, UTM, and polar stereographic output grid projections with any number of grid cells.
Control strategies can include changes in the reactivity of emitted pollutants. This is useful, for example, when a solvent is changed in an industrial process.
Run-time memory allocation, eliminating any need to recompile the source code for different inventories, grids, or chemical mechanisms.
No third-party software is required to run SMOKE, although some input file preparation, such as gridded land use or spatial allocation surrogates, does require other software.
Supports plume in grid (PinG) processing.
Integrated use of Continuous Emissions Monitoring (CEM) data, an hour-specific dataset of emissions from electric generating facilities. Also supports other day-specific and hour-specific point-source data.
Supports hour-specific point-source stack parameters (exit temperature, exit velocity, and exit flow rate).
Supports externally computed hourly plume rise (used for processing wildfires as point sources with a different plume rise algorithm than is available in SMOKE).
Supports emissions data input formats for the following AQMs and chemical mechanisms:
Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model: part of the Models-3 system. SMOKE v2.0 and later supports a research toxics version of CMAQ for non-point (stationary area) sources, nonroad mobile sources, on-road mobile sources, point sources, and biogenic sources.
Multiscale Air Quality Simulation Platform (MAQSIP): for both standard and real-time air quality modeling. Also MAQSIP-PM as an alternative system for modeling regional haze.
Regulatory Modeling System for Aerosols and Deposition (REMSAD)
Comprehensive Air Quality Model, with Extensions (CAMX)
Urban Airshed Model (UAM), versions IV and V