Preparing the spatial allocation inputs to SMOKE is a major stumbling blocks for most users at this time. All spatial allocation (gridding) inputs need to be consistent. Each file has a header to indicate the grid projection, location, dimensions, and resolution; SMOKE uses these headers to ensure consistency across all inputs. SMOKE also requires that any meteorology data inputs be consistent with these gridded data. Most programs in SMOKE are capable of processing a modeling grid that is a subgrid of the input data (i.e. spatial surrogates, meteorology data).
SMOKE does not require that you have a GIS to be able to install the software. However, some processing with a GIS is required to create the AGPRO, MGPRO, and BGPRO or BGUSE files. You currently have the following options to prepare these files:
Use the national 36-km Lambert surrogates provided with SMOKE (appropriate only for 36-km modeling). You will have to manually copy and edit the 36-km file to create a file for a smaller grid.
Use the MIMS Spatial Allocator to create surrogates for any desired modeling grid.
Hire a contractor to prepare the gridding surrogates and/or gridded land use data, or prepare the data yourself using a GIS.
The spatial surrogates files contain the spatial allocation factors for all area sources and non-link mobile sources. One file may be used for both area and mobile sources, although the SMOKE programs use the two logical file names to access it. The format for these files is shown in Table 8.59, “Format for AGPRO and MGPRO”.
Table 8.59. Format for AGPRO and MGPRO
| Line | Position | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | #GRID |
| B | Grid name | |
| C | X origin in units of the projection | |
| D | Y origin in units of the projection | |
| E | X direction cell length in units of the projection | |
| F | Y direction cell length in units of the projection | |
| G | Number of columns | |
| H | Number of rows | |
| I | Number of boundary cells | |
| J |
Projection types:
|
|
| K | Projection units | |
| L | Projection alpha value | |
| M | Projection beta value | |
| N | Projection gamma value | |
| O | X-direction projection center in units of the projection | |
| P | Y-direction projection center in units of the projection | |
| 2+ | A | Spatial surrogates code (area) or county feature/roadway type (mobile) (Integer) (required) |
| B | Country/state/county code (6-digit Integer YSSCCC) (required) | |
| C | Grid column number (Integer) (required) | |
| D | Grid row number (Integer) (required) | |
| E | Spatial surrogate ratio (area) or fraction of county feature in cell (mobile) (Real) (required) |