AERMOD Sample Run Instructions

Based on AERMOD v23132

Last updated: August 9, 2023

Overview
This instructional document is designed for a new user to set up and successfully run an
AERMOD sample run, including the AERMAP and AERMET preprocessors. Collectively
known as “the AERMOD modeling system”.
This document provides the user an opportunity to become familiar with how to set up
and run AERMOD from the command line. To use AERMOD with a wider range of
applications, the user should refer to the user and implementation guides for a more
thorough explanation of AERMOD use cases and applications. These guides are
updated with each release version of the AERMOD modeling system and can be found
on the EPA’s Support Center for Regulatory Atmospheric Modeling (SCRAM) webpage
(https://www.epa.gov/scram).
In this instruction guide, the user will be guided through the download and setup of
AERMOD using both Windows Explorer and Windows command prompt. This
document will guide the user through downloading necessary files, creating AERMOD
input files, running AERMOD from the command line, and examining the output files.
Note: This document is for users working on a Windows platform computer. Command
line arguments and setup steps would differ based on the operating platform. If the user
would like instructions for alternate operating systems (such as Mac), please contact
EPA using the “Contact Us about Air Quality Models” form on the SCRAM website
(https://www.epa.gov/scram/forms/contact-us-about-air-quality-models).

1
Table of Contents
1 Setting up the AERMOD Sample Run Directory .................................................................................. 3
1.1 Accessing the Windows (C:) Directory .......................................................................................... 3
1.2 Creating a Folder for AERMOD..................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Downloading the Sample Run ZIP File ......................................................................................... 5
1.4 Extracting the Sample Run File ..................................................................................................... 5
1.5 General Setup of an AERMOD Run .............................................................................................. 6
1.6 Downloading AERMOD modeling system executables ................................................................ 6
1.6.1 Downloading the AERMAP Executable ................................................................................. 6
1.6.2 Downloading the AERMET Executable ................................................................................. 7
1.6.3 Downloading the AERMOD Executable ................................................................................ 8
2 Setting up and Running AERMAP ........................................................................................................ 9
3 Setting up and Running AERMET ...................................................................................................... 13
4 Setting Up and Running AERMOD..................................................................................................... 16
4.1 Running AERMOD ...................................................................................................................... 17
4.2 Examining the Output Files ......................................................................................................... 18
4.3 Verifying AERMOD Outputs ........................................................................................................ 19
4.3.1 Difference in Dates and Time Stamps ................................................................................. 20
4.3.2 Difference in Numerical Formats of the Same Numbers .................................................... 20
4.4 Visualizing Outputs: AERPLOT (optional) ................................................................................... 20
5 AERMOD Run Customization ............................................................................................................ 21
5.1 Recommended File Structure ..................................................................................................... 21
5.2 Running AERMOD with Custom Filenames ................................................................................ 22
5.3 Running AERMAP, AERMET, and AERMOD Multiple Times ...................................................... 23
5.3.1 How to Use Batch Files ....................................................................................................... 23
5.3.2 Batch File Application in AERMOD ..................................................................................... 27
5.3.3 Running from Windows Explorer ......................................................................................... 28
6 References ......................................................................................................................................... 28
Appendix A: AERMOD System Components and Additional Resources .................................................... 29
A.1 Retrieving the SCRAM Test Cases ............................................................................................. 30
Appendix B: AERMOD File Extensions ....................................................................................................... 31
Appendix C: Windows DOS Prompt Commands ........................................................................................ 31
Appendix D: Potential Issue when Downloading ZIP file ............................................................................ 32

2
1 Setting up the AERMOD Sample Run
Directory
This section provides guidance to download, and set up the AERMOD Sample Run
folder on a local computer using File Explorer.

1.1 Accessing the Windows (C:) Directory

Step 1. First, the user will need to access the Windows File Explorer, which can be
done by two options.
Option 1. Press and hold the Windows key. While holding the Windows key,
press the “e” key.
Option 2. Click the “File Explorer” button at the bottom of the screen.

Figure 1: Opening File Explorer.

.
Step 2. On the left side of the window, locate the Windows (C: ) directory. Double
click to open the Windows (C: ) directory.
The result should look similar to Figure 2. Please note, files located at this location
will differ per user.

3
 Figure 2: Accessing the Windows (C:) directory.

1.2 Creating a Folder for AERMOD

All AERMOD modeling system components should be downloaded in the Windows (C:)
directory, the recommended download location.
Step 1. Right click in the Windows (C:) directory.
Step 2. Create a new folder by selecting New → Folder (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Creating a new folder.

4
 Step 3. Title the new folder as “AERMOD”. This folder will be the location where
subfolders AERMAP, AERMET, and AERMOD are later stored.

1.3 Downloading the Sample Run ZIP File

The following steps guide through downloading AERMOD and its contents into the
folder created in Section 1.2.
Step 1. Download AERMOD from the following link
https://www.epa.gov/scram/air-quality-dispersion-modeling-preferred-and-
recommended-models:The download can also be found by EPA’s
SCRAM website then following these links: Air Quality Models →
Dispersion Modeling → Preferred/Recommended Models → AERMOD
Modeling System.
Step 2. Under the section titled “Installation Guide (Sample Run)”, locate the file
named “Sample Run (ZIP)”.
Step 3. Click the file to download.
Step 4. Locate the download in the “Downloads” folder in the File Explorer.
Step 5. If a “CRDOWNLOAD File” is downloaded, please see “Appendix D:
Potential Issue with Downloading ZIP File”. It is likely that the ZIP file is
an incomplete download.

1.4 Extracting the Sample Run File

Once the Sample Run ZIP file is downloaded, it will need to be extracted in the correct
folder.
Step 1. Right-click on “SampleRun.zip” in the Downloads folder.
Step 2. Click on “Extract All”. This will prompt to select a “Destination and Extract
Files”. Extract files to “C:\AERMOD”, or where the AERMOD folder,
created in Step 1.2, is located.
Step 3. After confirming the correct directory, click “Extract”.
Step 4. While not required, the user can delete the “SampleRun.zip” located in
Downloads. This file is no longer necessary because the ZIP file is
already unzipped in the AERMOD folder.
Step 5. Navigate to the AERMOD folder.
Step 6. Verify if a new folder called “SampleRun” has been created. This
indicates the ZIP file was successful in unpacking the AERMOD project
contents.
Step 7. Open the “SampleRun” folder. This should contain three folders:
AERMAP, AERMET, and AERMOD. It is best if the user familiarizes
themself with the structure of the “SampleRun” folder as it may be difficult
to visualize later when using the command prompt.

5
After completing all the above steps, AERMOD and its subfolders can be moved to
another location, if desired.

1.5 General Setup of an AERMOD Run

With most regulatory applications of AERMOD, the user must first run two preprocessor
programs, AERMAP and AERMET. Both programs will create the necessary data files
needed for an AERMOD run. Section 2 and Section 3 of this guide will guide through
downloading, and setting up AERMAP and AERMET to create the files needed for
Section 4 where an example AERMOD run is completed.

1.6 Downloading AERMOD modeling system executables

To run AERMOD and the following programs, the user must first download three
executables: AERMAP, AERMET, and AERMOD. These will all be downloaded from the
EPA’s SCRAM website, found in the Downloads folder, and then moved to the correct
folder in the SampleRun folder.

1.6.1 Downloading the AERMAP Executable

Step 1. Navigate to the URL https://www.epa.gov/scram/air-quality-dispersion-

modeling-related-model-support-programs#aermap. The download can also be
found by EPA’s SCRAM website then following these links: Air Quality Models →
Dispersion Modeling → Related Programs.
Step 2. Find the section labeled “AERMAP – Version 18081”. Then, scroll down to
the model code and download the 64-bit executable by clicking “Executable
(ZIP)”.
Step 3. Open the SampleRun folder and then the AERMAP subfolder.
Step 4. Open another File Explorer window and open the Downloads folder.
Step 5. Find and open the “aermap_exe.zip” folder.
Step 6. Select the “aermap.exe” executable by clicking on it once.
Step 7. Drag the file “aermap.exe” into the AERMAP folder (see Figure 4).

6
 Figure 4: Dragging aermap.exe into the AERMAP folder.

1.6.2 Downloading the AERMET Executable

Extracting the next two executables will be similar where you download a zip folder from
the website and then extract the executable by dragging into the SampleRun folder.
Step 1. Navigate to the URL https://www.epa.gov/scram/meteorological-
processors-and-accessory-programs. The download can also be found by
EPA’s SCRAM website following these links: Meteorological Data and
Processors → Observational Meteorological Data → Meteorological
Processors and Accessory Programs.
Step 2. Scroll down to the Model Code section and download the 64-bit
executable by clicking “Executable – v22112 (ZIP)”.
Step 3. Open the SampleRun folder and then the AERMET subfolder.
Step 4. Open another File Explorer window and open the Downloads folder.
Step 5. Find and open the “aermet_exe.zip” folder.
Step 6. Select the “aermet.exe” executable by clicking on it once.
Step 7. Drag the file “aermet.exe” into the AERMET folder (see Figure 5).

7
 Figure 5: Dragging aermet.exe into the AERMET folder.

1.6.3 Downloading the AERMOD Executable

Step 1. Navigate to the URL https://www.epa.gov/scram/air-quality-dispersion-

modeling-preferred-and-recommended-models. The download can also be found
by EPA’s SCRAM website following these links: Air Quality Models → Dispersion
Modeling → Preferred/Recommended Models.
Step 2. Scroll down AERMOD Modeling System Code and Documentation and
download the 64-bit executable by clicking “Executable (v22112) (ZIP)”.
Step 3. Open the SampleRun folder and then the AERMOD subfolder.
Step 4. Open another File Explorer window and open the Downloads folder.
Step 5. Find and open the “aermod_exe.zip” folder.
Step 6. Select the “aermod.exe” executable by clicking on it once.
Step 7. Drag the file “aermod.exe” into the AERMOD folder (see Figure 6).

8
 Figure 6: Dragging aermod.exe into the AERMOD folder.

2 Setting up and Running AERMAP

AERMAP processes terrain data and produces two files: a .src and .rec file that are both
later used in AERMOD. After these files are produced, they will be included in the file
“aermod.inp”, the input file which contains all in model inputs and options. In the sample
run, “aermod.inp” is already formatted to include the .src and .rec file (see Section 5.1
Recommended File Structure for more information).
AERMOD and its preprocessors are designed to run from a Command Prompt window.
Running AERMOD from the Command Prompt is helpful because it provides diagnostic
messages to update the user on run progress. These messages are displayed as output
text in the command window during the run. In addition, any errors that occur during the
run will be output to an ERRORS.OUT file.
Step 1. Open a command prompt window. This can be found by locating the search
bar at the bottom and typing in “Command Prompt” (see Figure 7).

9
 Figure 7: Accessing the Command Prompt.

Step 2. Click on the Command prompt banner. This will create a new Command
Prompt window (see Figure 8).

Figure 8: Opening a Command Prompt window.

10
Step 3. The user must “change directories” (meaning the user must change the
directory in the command prompt to the “Sample Run” folder). If the user has
not moved the AERMOD project, they can type in the command (the user
can also copy paste the following commands into the command prompt
window):

cd C:/AERMOD/SampleRun

Notes: 1) The Windows Command Line is not case sensitive. Commands can be typed
in either upper or lower case. 2) If the user has moved the AERMOD project, modify
“C:/AERMOD/SampleRun with the correct directory
Step 4. Once again, change directories. This time, change directories to the
AERMAP folder. Since the user is already in the SampleRun directory, it can
easily be done by the command:

cd AERMAP

Note: If the user wants to go up a level (back to the SampleRun folder), then the
user can use the command “cd ..”.

Step 5. To run AERMAP, the user can simply type the command:

aermap

Note: When running AERMAP, the program will look for an input file called
“aermap.inp”. If there is none, the program will fail. If the user wants to use an input file
with a different name, they can manually rename the file to “aermap.inp”, or, if there is a
file named “myaermap.inp” run the command, “aermap myaermap.inp” in place of the
“aermap” command above. For this sample run, there is already a file called
“aermap.inp” provided in the AERMAP folder.
Step 6. Confirm the command prompt outputs results similar to Figure 9 below.

11
 Figure 9: Expected (partial) output after running AERMAP.

Step 7. Confirm that the files “aermap.src” and “aermap.rec” have now been created in
the AERMAP folder (see Figure 10 below).

Figure 10: Confirming aermap.rec and aermap.src have been created.

Note: The current set of files has a known error that will leave the “aermap.src” file
blank. This is not the same result as used in other applications, but this will not hinder
any further steps. The user can safely ignore the empty “aermap.src” file.

12
3 Setting up and Running AERMET
Like AERMAP, AERMET will also produce the necessary data needed to run AERMOD.
AERMET is responsible for producing a .sfc and .pfl file. The .sfc file will contain surface
meteorological data and the .pfl file will contain profile meteorological data both used by
AERMOD to characterize the atmospheric conditions.
The following steps guide through how to run AERMET to get the .sfc and .pfl files:
Step 1. Change directories to the SampleRun folder. This can be done by two
options.

Option 1. If currently in the AERMAP folder, the user could run the command “cd
..” to return to the SampleRun folder.
Option 2. If in a different directory or even the AERMAP folder, the user can run
the command “cd C:\AERMOD\SampleRun” to manually renavigate to the
SampleRun folder.

Step 2. Change directories to the AERMET folder using the command:

cd AERMET

Note: AERMET runs in two “stages”. Thus, the command prompts are slightly
different than running AERMAP.
Step 3. Run the following command:

aermet aermet1.inp

Step 4. Verify the results are similar to Figure 11 below. This signifies that the first
stage of running AERMET was successful.

13
 Figure 11: Expected ouptut after Stage 1 of AERMET.

Step 5. Run the following command:

aermet aermet2.inp

Step 6. Verify the results are similar to Figure 12 below. This signifies that the
second stage of running AERMET was successful.

14
 Figure 12: Expected result of Stage 2 of AERMET

After running both stages of AERMET, the user should open File Explorer and confirm
that aermet.pfl and aermet.sfc have been created in the AERMET folder (see Figure 13
below).

Figure 13: Two new files are created (highlighted/selected).

15
Note: There are many other files in the AERMET folder. These files are necessary for
the corresponding program to create the data needed. Aermet.pfl and aermet.sfc are
the files which will be input into AERMOD.

4 Setting Up and Running AERMOD

The aermod.inp file is the input file into the AERMOD program. Anytime the user wants
to run AERMOD, a file named aermod.inp is required. It contains the file paths to other
necessary data files (like the. sfc and .pfl files).
To view the aermod.inp file, open the following folders: the Windows (C:) directory →
AERMOD → SampleRun → AERMOD. This can be done by three options.
Option 1. (recommended): Double click on aermod.inp to open the file in Notepad.
Option 2. The user can use a different text editor, such as Notepad++ or Sublime
Text to examine the aermod.inp input file. Files that end in “.inp” are used as
input for the model.
Option 3. Navigate to a Command Prompt window and then change directory to the
AERMOD folder using the following command:

cd C:\AERMOD\SampleRun\AERMOD

Use the command “type aermod.inp” from a command prompt followed by a vertical bar,
followed by the command “more” like the following:

type aermod.inp | more

The user can navigate through the text of the file with the Space bar. The user can stop
it any time with control-C.)
For future reference, this aermod.inp file is divided by lines, as displayed in the example
text below, into six sections called “pathways”. One example of a pathway is the
meteorology (ME) pathway. “ME STARTING” is the beginning of the meteorology
pathway and “ME FINISHED” is the end of the meteorology pathway. Other pathways in
the aermod.inp include control (CO), source (SO), receptor (RE), and output (OU). All
pathways use the “STARTING” and “ENDING” keywords to “bracket” each pathway
section in aermod.inp. Any line in the aermod.inp that starts with “”**” is treated like a
comment and is not used by AERMOD. These comments are helpful for the user to
keep text notes regarding options and choice for individual runs within this file.

16
 ME STARTING

SURFFILE ..\aermet\aermet.sfc free

PROFFILE ..\aermet\aermet.pfl free

SURFDATA 14737 1992 Allentown

SITEDATA 00001 1992 Martin_Crk

UAIRDATA 14735 1992 Abany

PROFBASE 73.2

** startend 92 7 9 20 92 7 9 20

ME FINISHED

More information about these pathways can be found in the Implementation Guide,
and the use cases and applications of AERMOD.

4.1 Running AERMOD

While acceptable in a few cases, it is generally not recommended to run “aermod.exe”
file directly because the user will not be able to view the “ERRORS.OUT” file and view
any errors the AERMOD program encounters during the run. It is recommended that the
user run AERMOD through the command line by the following steps:
Step 1. Change directories to the AERMOD folder by running the command:

cd C:\AERMOD\SampleRun\AERMOD

Step 2. Run AERMOD by typing the following into the command line prompt:

aermod

Press Enter to run. AERMOD will process many lines of data information like Figure 14
below.

17
 Figure 14: Expected output from AERMOD.

4.2 Examining the Output Files

To examine the output file “aermod.out”, it is recommended to open the file in text editor
programs such as Notepad, Notepad++, etc.
To locate the output file, navigate to the AERMOD folder which was previously opened
to inspect “aermod.inp”. This folder should not contain a file called “aermod.out”.
Alternatively, the user can use the command “type aermod.out | more”, however,
this is only recommended for users familiar with command line editors and navigating
the command prompt output.
It should be pointed out, the very beginning of the “aermod.out” file is an exact copy of
the “aermod.inp” file. Following the copy of “aermod.inp” will be the AERMOD output

18
information. This information will depend on the user options and input files passed into
AERMOD.
Within the AERMOD folder, will be an additional output file titled, “ERRORS.OUT. This
.OUT file will contain any warnings or errors encountered during the run. It is
recommended the user is aware of any errors reported in this document.

4.3 Verifying AERMOD Outputs

If the user wants to verify that AERMOD is producing the correct outputs, they can
compare files on the working computer to the original files. Inside the ZIP file, which was
downloaded, there will be files that contain “_org” in the file name. This implies the file is
an “original file” that was not modified by AERMOD in this run. The user can compare
their files to these original files to verify some of the features are working.
It is also recommended to use text editors like Notepad++, Sublime Text, etc. to
compare the two output files. Some text editors may have features that allow for an
easier comparison of the two files.
Note: This is not a comprehensive verification system. This will only verify simple
AERMOD procedures.
After executing AERMOD and creating the output scripts, the user can use the “FC” (file
compare) command to compare file output.
Note: While minor differences in the files are expected (see Sections 4.3.1 - 4.3.2), if
there are major differences within the files, please return to and run through the
corresponding steps. In some cases, it may be an easier approach to delete the
SampleRun folder and unzip the AERMOD ZIP file again.
After executing AERMAP, the user can confirm correct output and AERMAP is working
by navigating to the AERMET folder and using the following commands:

FC aermap.rec aermap_ORG.rec

FC aermap.src aermap_ORG.src

Note: The user can also use the “FC” command on “DOMDETAIL.OUT”,
“MAPDETAIL.OUT”, and “MAPPARAMS.OUT”, but these files are not important for the
later steps.
After executing AERMET, the user can confirm correct output and AERMET is working
by first navigating to the AERMET folder and using the following commands:

FC aermet.pfl aermet_ORG.pfl

19
 FC aermet.sfc aermet_ORG.sfc

After executing AERMOD, the user can confirm correct output and AERMOD is working
by navigating to the AERMOD folder and using the following commands:

FC aermod.out aermod_ORG.out
FC aermod.sum aermod_ORG.sum
FC ERRORS.OUT ERRORS_ORG.OUT

4.3.1 Difference in Dates and Time Stamps

When AERMOD output files that are expected to be the same are compared, the file of
differences should only have lines containing date or time stamps. (Because the
timestamps will be the only difference.) Some files should have no differences.

4.3.2 Difference in Numerical Formats of the Same Numbers

In numerical data, there might be cases where "0.00" is represented as " .00". These
represent the name numerical value. If the difference is the last digit, such as "1.45678"
instead of "1.45677", the difference could occur due to rounding in the calculation.
Comparison commands are useful to locate numerical differences.

4.4 Visualizing Outputs: AERPLOT (optional)

An AERMOD run can also provide visual mapping of receptors in programs such as
Google Earth. This will require downloading AERPLOT, which is a postprocessor for
AERMOD, which produces spatial images of the AERMOD outputs.

20
 Figure 15: Example output (.KMZ file) from AERPLOT as displayed in Google Earth.

For sample run instructions, visit the following link: https://www.epa.gov/scram/air-

quality-dispersion-modeling-preferred-and-recommended-models. Once on the
webpage, click on “AERPLOT Sample Run Instructions (PDF)” for more information.

5 AERMOD Run Customization

Now that the user can successfully complete an AERMOD run, there are methods to
customize a basic AERMOD run and use AERMOD for more complicated tasks.

5.1 Recommended File Structure

Each part of the AERMOD modeling system (e.g. AERMAP, AERSURFACE, AERMET,
etc.) should be stored in its own subdirectory. The output from each segment of the
system, such as the meteorological data or land characteristics, will need to be copied
to the subdirectory where the user's AERMOD run will be executed. This is the pattern
used within this SampleRun folder and should be mimicked when using AERMOD. Path
names can sometimes be used to point back to where the data is located and therefore,
the data does not have to be copied to the executable's subdirectory (see Figure 16
below for an example).

21
 Figure 16: Inspecting aermod.inp (highlights show input files from AERMET and AERMAP).

Input to each executable must be renamed or copied to the basic file name of the
executable. For instance, when executing an AERMOD run, "myinputfile.inp" has to be
renamed to "“aermod.inp”". The output file will be AERMOD.OUT and will have to be
renamed to "myoutputfile.out" or it will be over written next time AERMOD is run. It is
important to read each User's Guide for any variations that do not follow this generic
procedure. This helps us to make AERMOD compatible with other Operating System
environments.

5.2 Running AERMOD with Custom Filenames

AERMOD has been updated to support multiple arguments from the command line.
There are three ways to run AERMOD from the command line:
Option 1. The most common technique and the one that was used earlier is to run
the command:

aermod

22
 This will require an input file called “aermod.inp” and give an output file named
“aermod.out”. It will give an error and not run if “aermod.inp” is not found in the
directory location.

Option 2. The second technique is to specify the input file name. If you have a file
named “myrun.inp”, you can run the command:

aermod myrun.inp

This will require an input file called “myrun.inp” and give an output file named
“myrun.out”.

Option 3. The third technique is to specify the input file name and the output file
name. If you have a file named “myrun.inp” and want the output to write to a file
called “myoutput.out”, you can run the command:

aermod myrun.inp myoutput.out

This will require an input file called “myrun.inp” and give an output file named
“myoutput.out”.

5.3 Running AERMAP, AERMET, and AERMOD Multiple

Times
Batch files are used to execute multiple commands in the command prompt
consecutively and automatically. In this section, the user will first be introduced to batch
files and then learn about the most common AERMOD application for batch files.

5.3.1 How to Use Batch Files

A batch file is a script file that stores commands to be executed. Instead of executing
one command like used earlier, batch files can execute multiple commands one after
another without the user having to manually enter them. Batch files have multiple
applications with AERMOD; most of the time they are used to perform multiple runs
automatically with different sets of data. The rest of this section will introduce the user to
a basic batch file.
As an introduction to batch files, imagine the user wanted to run one script instead of
having to manually run AERMET, then AERMAP, then AERMOD.
The series of commands would be as follows:

23
 1. Switch to the AERMAP folder.
2. Run AERMAP.
3. Switch to the AERMET folder.
4. Run Stage 1 of AERMET.
5. Run Stage 2 of AERMET.
6. Switch to the AERMOD folder.
7. Run AERMOD.
The following steps will lead the user through how to create a batch file to automatically
run these steps.
Step 1. First, the user wants to create the batch file.

1. Using the search bar at the bottom of the screen, type in “Notepad” and select
the application. Alternatively, use any choice of text editor although the following
instructions will be best suited for Notepad. Figure 17 shows a new Notepad tab
being opened.

Figure 17: Opening a Notepad file.

2. Copy and paste the text below into the Notepad window. Please keep in mind
this is a very basic batch script. After the first batch script is working, the user can
experiment with more complex batch scripts.

rem Switching directories to AERMAP folder.

cd AERMAP
rem Running AERMAP:
aermap
rem Switching directories to AERMET folder.
cd ../AERMET
rem Running Stage 1 of AERMET:
aermet aermet1.inp

24
 rem Running Stage 2 of AERMET:
aermet aermet2.inp
rem Switching directories to AERMOD folder.
cd ../AERMOD
rem Running Aermod:
aermod

Note: The “rem” commands are lines that will be given as console output. When
the user runs the batch file later, the user can see the lines that begin with “rem”
in the console.

3. Click File in the upper left-hand corner.

4. Click “Save as”. A file explorer tab will open. Find the SampleRun folder. If it has
not been moved, the user can do this by finding the Windows (C:) tab, then the
AERMOD folder, and then the Sample Run folder (see Figure 18).
5. Under Save as type, click the dropdown menu and select “All Files (*.*).”
6. Rename the file to “run-myrun.bat”.
7. Verify results with Figure 18 below. The image shows the batch script in the
Notepad window and the correct place to save the file with the correct
information.
8. Click Save to create a batch file.

Figure 18: Saving a batch file.

25
 Step 2. Now that an input file and a custom batch file have successfully been
created, the user must run the batch file from the command line.

1. Open a new command prompt window (or one that is already open).
2. Change directories to the SampleRun folder with the command:

cd C:\AERMOD\SampleRun

3. Run the batch file using the command:

run-myrun.bat

4. The batch file will now run through all the steps of AERMAP, AERMET, and
AERMOD (see Figure 19).

26
 Figure 19: Beginning of the command prompt output from running batch script.

5.3.2 Batch File Application in AERMOD

Often when running AERMOD, the user may need to run multiple runs of the model. It is
more convenient to write a script that automates the process of running AERMOD with
different parameters, rather than manually executing AERMOD each time. This is the
most common application for batch files when using AERMOD. These types of batch
scripts would follow the same logic/steps presented above but execute AERMOD
multiple times with multiple .inp files by running with the custom filenames as described
in Section 5.2 or by renaming each .inp file to aermod.inp running, then renaming the
output filenames to match the desired run name.

27
5.3.3 Running from Windows Explorer

Another way to run the RUN-MYRUN.BAT file is to locate it in the File Explorer window,
and then double click it. Evidence that the AERMOD program has run is if a new
Command Prompt window opens and closes quickly. The result of the run can be seen
in the “aermod.out” file.
Note: Experienced users can go into Windows Explorer, and double click on
“aermod.exe”. If there is no “aermod.inp” ready, that would result in a window that would
briefly open and shut with no indication of anything happening. That did run AERMOD
but gives no idea of whether it was a successful run or not.
The user has now completed all steps to run their first AERMOD sample run. As
mentioned earlier, the user should find the implementation guide for more information
on applications and use cases.

6 References
EPA, 2018: User's Guide for the AERMOD Terrain Preprocessor (AERMAP). EPA-
454/B-18-004. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina 27711.
EPA, 2022b: AERMOD Implementation Guide (Revised June 2022). EPA-454/B-22-008.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
27711.
EPA, 2022c: User's Guide for the AERMOD Meteorological Preprocessor (AERMET).
EPA-454/B-22-006. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle
Park, North Carolina 27711.

28
Appendix A: AERMOD System Components and
Additional Resources
The use of AERMOD requires a user to read the manuals and to understand what they
are trying to convey. This “Sample Run Instructions” is a very restrictive example to
familiarize the user with how to set up and run AERMOD. For a deeper understanding,
please refer to the implementation guide.
Please read and understand what is in the user’s guides and manuals. This cannot be
emphasized enough. AERMOD and its supporting systems are complex and must be
understood fully when using AERMOD in some simulation or application.
All resources can be found on EPA’s SCRAM page.
Appendix W summarizes EPA’s guidelines for the AERMOD model.
For more help, please contact EPA using the “Contact Us about Air Quality Models” form
on the SCRAM website (https://www.epa.gov/scram/forms/contact-us-about-air-quality-
models).
TABLE OF REGULATORY COMPONENTS AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.
Model System
Additional Resources Description
Component
Describes all model options, inputs, outputs, and
User’s Guide
requirements for all modeling situations
Gives a summary of pathway keywords and
Quick Reference Guide
parameters
Technical description of all model equations and
Model Formulation methodology, as well as references to published
Document work. This contains formulations for both AERMOD
and AERMET
Model Evaluation Evaluates old and new versions of AERMOD for
AERMOD Document statistical accuracy
Model Evaluation Databases used in AERMOD evaluation
Databases
Provides information on how to use AERMOD in
Implementation Guide
application and different use cases
Provides a series of tests used for model version
Test Cases
comparison
Collection of journal articles, technical support
Model Supporting
documents, and other various documents containing
Documents
model formulation and evaluation
User’s Guide Describes all options, inputs, outputs, and
requirements for AERMET
AERMET
Test Cases Provides a series of tests used for model version
comparison on the AERMET model
User’s Guide Describes all options, inputs, outputs, and
requirements for AERMAP
AERMAP
Test Cases Provides a series of tests used for model version
comparison on the AERMAP model

29
 Data Sources and Details information on data sources and converting
Conversion of Elevation elevation data to TIFF files.
Data

TABLE OF NON-REGULATORY COMPONENTS AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.

Model System
Additional Resources Description
Component
Describes all options, inputs, outputs, and
requirements for AERMINUTE that processes 1-
AERMINUTE User’s Guide
minute ASOS wind data to generate hourly average
winds for input to AERMET in Stage 2.
Provides information on how to download and use
AERPLOT Sample Run Instructions
AERPLOT.
AERSURFACE Summarizes the use cases of AERSURFACE
Transmittal Memo designed to obtain realistic surface characteristic
values
AERSURFACE User’s Guide Describes all options, inputs, outputs, and
requirements for AERSURFACE,
Test Cases Provides a series of tests used for model version
comparison on the AERSURFACE model
Describes all options, input, outputs, and
User’s Guide requirements for AERSCREEN, a screening-level
AERSCREEN air quality model
Provides a series of tests used for model version
Test Cases
comparison on the AERSCREEN screening model
Addendum to ISC3 Describes all options, inputs, outputs, and
User’s Guide for requirements for BPIPPRM, a building preprocessor
BPIPPRM BPIPPRM Documentation
Test Cases Provides a series of tests used for model version
comparison on the BPIPPRM model
User’s Guide Describes all options, inputs, outputs, and
requirements for MMIF, a meteorological
preprocessor
MMIF Guidance for AERMOD Provides guidance on the use of MMIF for AERMOD
applications use
Test Problems Provides a series of tests used for model version
comparison on the MMIF model
A program which computes wind rose statistics
based on 10 degree wind increments. Unlike
Tutorial & Instructions WINDROSE, WRPLOT can provide a graphical plot.
WRPLOT Windrose uses the TD-1440 SCRAM meteorological
data as input.
Gives the user an example of how to execute
Demonstration
WRPLOT

A.1 Retrieving the SCRAM Test Cases

The test cases on SCRAM are used for model version comparison. They are used to
compare new version of AERMOD with older versions of AERMOD and make sure their
features are the same.

30
If the user would like to access them, use the following steps:
Step 1. Use a browser to go to the AERMOD project download. The download can
also be found by EPA’s SCRAM page then tracing the following links: Air Quality
Models → Dispersion Modeling → Preferred/Recommended Models → AERMOD
Modeling System.
Step 2. Find the section labeled Test Cases and download the “AERMOD Test
Cases (ZIP)”.
Step 3. If the user is having trouble downloading the ZIP, please read through
“Appendix: Trouble downloading ZIP file”.
Step 4. Read through Step 4 with help unzipping the file.
Step 5. Read through “AERMOD Test Cases – Instructions_v23132” for help
downloading the test cases.

Appendix B: AERMOD File Extensions

Table 2 is a list of the file types used by AERMOD. The table is a quick reference to be
used in identifying the files that can be found in the AERMOD program’s folder before
and after the AERMOD run. The first column is the extension, and the second column
contains descriptive information about the extension.
Table 1: AERMOD File Extensions

Extension Description

*.pfl Upper-level wind profile

*.src Sources data

.rec Receptor data

.dat Text formatted input data

*.sfc Surface meteorological data

*.exe executable file

*.inp input file

*.out output file

*.sum summary file

Errors.* File containing error messages generated during run attempt

Step 6. For more information on the specific files in the SampleRun folder, see the
file “ReadMeForFilesExplained.txt” in the SampleRun folder.

Appendix C: Windows DOS Prompt Commands

31
Listed below are sample DOS commands to enter at the Command Prompt (>).
Table 1 is a list of all the Windows DOS commands used in the document's text. The
first column is the command and the second column contains descriptive information
about the command:
Table 2: DOS Commands

Command Description

cd \ changes directories to the top directory in whatever drive currently in

cd \document* changes directories to the "documents" subdirectory

copy file1 file2 copies the file contents of file1 to file2 (e.g. copy “aermod.out” aertest1.out)

mkdir foo creates the subdirectory named foo

del file deletes the file

rmdir foo deletes the subdirectory named foo (may have trouble if not empty)

| more Adding the vertical bar and “more” will page the output of the existing command

Appendix D: Potential Issue when Downloading ZIP

file
If the user is having trouble downloading any ZIP file, make sure that their computer has
storage. If the computer has storage, it is likely that the browser doesn’t trust the
download.
Step 1. Look for a popup that says something like “File.zip isn’t commonly
downloaded. Make sure you trust File.zip before you open it”. Note: The name of
the file will vary based off what the user is trying to download. See Figure 20 for
an example.

Figure 20: An example of popup window if error occurs during download.

Step 2. Hover over the error message until the message is greyed out and an icon
with three bars is shown on the side.
Step 3. Click the icon with three bars.

32
 Step 4. Click “Keep” (see Figure 21).

Figure 21: Finding the keep button.

Step 5. The user will be prompted to “Make sure you trust the zip before you open
it.” Click the dropdown that says, “Show more”.
Step 6. Click the blue text that says, “Keep anyway” (see Figure 22).

Figure 22: Keeping the ZIP file.

The zip folder should now be in the user’s downloads folder and the ZIP is successfully
downloaded. Repeat these steps if another ZIP file has the same problem.

33