CCTM_DUSTEMIS_* emissions zero but ASOIL non-zero

CMAQ Run Time Errors and Issues
1

Here is a configuration I used in CMAQv5.3.2 runscript to activate the WBDUST module:

setenv CTM_WB_DUST Y
setenv CTM_WBDUST_BELD UNKNOWN 
setenv CTM_DUSTEM_DIAG Y
if ( $CTM_WB_DUST == 'Y' ) then
# Input variables for BELD3 Landuse option
#setenv DUST_LU_1 $LUpath/beld3_12US1_459X299_output_a.ncf
#setenv DUST_LU_2 $LUpath/beld4_12US1_459X299_output_tot.ncf
endif

Above configuration (and also another run with setenv DUST_LU_1 and setenv DUST_LU_2 uncommented) resulted in the output CCTM_DUSTEMIS_* files having 0 emissions for any PM species (fine or coarse) at any timestamp, while the CCTM_CONC_* file has ASOIL concentration that is nonzero. The only ‘problem’ I see is this message on the CCTM_LOG_* file:
image

What could I have missed that would lead to CCTM_DUSTEMIS_* files having zero PM emission for all timestamps, while the CCTM_CONC_* file has nonzero ASOIL concentration?

2

You should not have commented-out setenv DUST_LU_1 $LUpath/beld3_12US1_459X299_output_a.ncf
The log says that without this setenv it cannot open the file in the current running directory.

3

CMAQ runs with ‘setenv CTM_WBDUST_BELD UNKNOWN’ as it is using MCIP land data and not DUST_LU_1. My only problem was CCTM_DUSTEMIS_* showing 0 windblown dust emission, true even when ‘setenv CTM_WBDUST_BELD BELD3’ and ‘DUST_LU_1,2’ are found and read by CMAQ. All this is happening while the lumped ASOIL variable is not zero in the CCTM_CONC_* output files.

4

Aside from emissions, another potential source of ASOIL is from initial and boundary conditions. Do you have non-zero ASOIL concentrations in either of these?

5

I have mapped global model dust species of different radii to ASOIL in CMAQ. The hotspots for the dust, as seen in the default ncview colormap, are definitely outside the US, like in Africa and Asia, but I need to zoom in on the US and make conversion of the global model ‘mmr’ units to cmaq-compatible ‘ppbV’ units first.

6

In the regional CMAQ run for which you reported non-zero ASOIL concentrations but zero emissions in the CCTM_DUSTEMIS file, did your boundary and/or initial conditions files have non-zero ASOIL concentrations?

There are two potential scenarios here:

  1. Wind-blown dust emissions are actually being generated in the CMAQ run as intended by your run script settings, but there is a problem with writing these emissions to the diagnostic output file

  2. The diagnostic output file is correct and wind-blown dust emissions are indeed not being generated by CMAQ despite the run script settings

If the non-zero ASOIL concentrations can be traced back to your boundary and/or initial conditions, it would point towards the second scenario. On the other hand, if these concentrations appear to be generated within the domain, it would point towards the first scenario.