HEMCO data directories

On this page we describe the directory tree from which the HEMCO emissions component can read emissions inventories and other atmospheric data sets.

Overview

The HEMCO emissions component can read several types of emission inventories, as well as other types atmospheric data sets, such as production and loss rates, or concentration data. We have collated all of this data into a comprehensive directory tree structure. Each folder of the HEMCO data directory tree represents a particular emissions inventory or other data set.

At present, the HEMCO data directory tree resides on the disk servers at Harvard University (and soon at Dalhousie University). We have created a package that will let you download this directory tree to your local disk storage space. For more information, please see the Downloading the HEMCO data directories section below.

Please see our list of recommended default emission inventories, which has been compiled by the Emissions and Deposition Working Group.

--Bob Yantosca (talk) 22:27, 7 September 2017 (UTC)

Downloading the HEMCO data directories

We recommend the following methods for downloading the HEMCO data directories, depending on which GEOS-Chem version you are using:

GEOS-Chem versions	Recommended download method	Alternate download method
12.7.0 and later	The GEOS-Chem dry-run option	Manual download from either Compute Canada, or Amazon Web Services s3://gcgrid storage
12.6.3 and prior	The hemco_data_download package	Manual download from either Compute Canada, or Amazon Web Services s3://gcgrid storage

--Bob Yantosca (talk) 17:07, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

HEMCO data directory structure

The sections below describe each of the data sets contained in the HEMCO directory tree, grouped by type.

In each of the tables below:

The Inventory column contains a link that describes each data set in more detail. Most of these links point to existing pages on the GEOS-Chem wiki.

The Data file info column points to the README files that are stored with each data set. Each README provides a list of the files contained within a given folder, information about the data contained in each file, and (often) a description of how the files were created.

The Path column shows the location of each data set, with respect to $ROOT, the top-level HEMCO directory. For example, on the Harvard disk server, $ROOT points to the directory /mnt/gcgrid/data/ExtData/HEMCO/.

The Status column describes the current status of each data set:

DEFAULT SETTING	Denotes that the data set is part of the standard emissions configuration for GEOS-Chem, that is: It is used in the GEOS-Chem 1-month and 1-year full-chemistry benchmark simulations, or It is used in one or more of the GEOS-Chem specialty simulations.
OPTIONAL SETTING	Denotes that the data set is not part of the the standard GEOS-Chem emissions configuration. But you can still use the data set in your research applications if you wish.

If use GEOS-Chem, then we recommend that you download the data sets that are listed as DEFAULT SETTING, as these form the standard GEOS-Chem emissions configuration. You are free, however, to use any of the data sets listed below. Your choice of data sets will depend on your particular research needs.

NOTE: The inventories are grouped and listed in the same order as in the HEMCO_Config.rc version that ships with GEOS-Chem 13.0.0.

Regional inventories

Inventory	More info	Path	Data size	Status
APEI Canadian emissions Data Years: 1989-2014	README	$ROOT/APEI/v2016-11/	68 MB	OPTIONAL SETTING Superseded by CEDS in 13.0.0 Was default from v11-02f–13.0.0
NEI2011_HOURLY Hourly CONUS emissions from NEI2011 inventory Data Years: 2006-2013	README	$ROOT/NEI2011/v2015-03	248 GB	OPTIONAL SETTING Superseded by CEDS in 13.0.0 Was default from v11-02f–13.0.0
NEI2011_MONTHLY_MEAN Monthly mean CONUS emissions from NEI2011 inventory Data Years: 1989-2014	README	$ROOT/NEI2011/v2017-02-MM	248 GB	OPTIONAL SETTING Superseded by CEDS in 13.0.0 Was default from v11-02f – 13.0.0
MIX Asian anthropogenic emissions Data Years: 2008-2010	README	$ROOT/MIX/v2015-03	623 MB	OPTIONAL SETTING Superseded by CEDS in 13.0.0 Was default from v11-02f – 13.0.0
DICE_Africa African emissions inventory Data Years: 2013	README	$ROOT/DICE_Africa/v2016-10	202 MB	OPTIONAL Superseded by CEDS in 13.0.0 Was default from v11-02f – 13.0.0

Global inventories

The following subdirectories of the HEMCO directory tree contain inventories of anthropogenic and biofuel emissions.

Please also see list of species included in each of these global inventories and regional inventories.

Inventory	More info	Path	Data size	Status
CEDS Community Emissions Data System Data Years: 1970-2017	README	$ROOT/CEDS/v2020-08	73 GB	DEFAULT SETTING Introduced in 13.0.0 Reference: McDuffie et al 2020, ESSD
CEDS_byFuelType Sectorial CEDS emissions Data Years: 1970-2017	README	$ROOT/CEDS/v2020-08	73 GB	OPTIONAL SETTING Incurs additional I/O overhead Introduced in 13.0.0 Reference: McDuffie et al 2020, ESSD
EDGARv43 EDGAR global emissions v4.3 Data Years: 1970-2010	README	$ROOT/EDGARv43/v2016-11	6.2 GB	OPTIONAL SETTING Superseded by CEDS in 13.0.0 Used for sectors not included in DICE-Africa inventory Turning on this option will also include trash burning emissions of NOx, SOx, CO, NH3, BC and OC from Wiedinmyer et al. (2014) and NMVOC emissions from CEDS
HTAP HTAP global anthro+biofuel emissions Data Years: 2008-2010	README	$ROOT/HTAP/v2015-03	4.5 GB	OPTIONAL SETTING NOTE: HTAP includes some regional emissions from other inventories. If you select HTAP you might not need to select the other regional inventories in HEMCO. See this document for more information.
GEIA_NH3 GEIA natural source NH3 emissions Data Years: 1990	README	$ROOT/NH3/v2014-07	8.1 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
SEABIRD_NH3 Croft et al NH3 emissions from arctic sea birds Data Years: 1990	README	HEMCO/NH3/v2018-04/	104 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
POET Anthropogenic EOH inventory Data Years: 1985	README	$ROOT/POET/v2017-03/	38 MB	OPTIONAL SETTING Was default setting from v11-02a – 13.0.0
TZOMPASOSA_C2H6 Tzompa-Soza et al [2017] C2H6 emissions Data Years: 2010	README	$ROOT/C2H6_2010/v2019-06	536 KB	DEFAULT SETTING Overwrites the C2H6 emissions from the CEDS to address underestimates
XIAO_C3H8 Y. Xiao et al [2008] C3H8 emissions Data Years: 1985	README	$ROOT/XIAO/v2014-09	308 KB	DEFAULT SETTING Overwrites the C3H8 emissions from CEDS to address underestimates
LIANG_BROMOCARB Liang et al VSL emissions Data Years: 2000	README	$ROOT/BROMINE/v2015-02	156 KB	DEFAULT SETTING
ORDONEZ_IONOCARB Ordonez et al Iodine emissions Data Years: 1985	README	$ROOT/IODINE/v2017-09	4.4 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
AEIC MIT aircraft emissions inventory Data Years: 2005	README	$ROOT/AEIC/v2015-01	2.0 GB	DEFAULT SETTING
DECAYING_PLANTS ALD2 and EOH emissions from decaying plants Data Years: 1985	README	$ROOT/ALD2/v2017-03	8.1 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
AFCID Anthropogenic PM2.5 dust source Data Years: 2015	README	$ROOT/AFCID/2018-04	4.4 MB	DEFAULT SETTING In GEOS-Chem 12.5.0 AFCID was separated from the DEAD dust emissions extension to allow for use with offline dust emissions as well.

Ship emissions

The following subdirectories of the HEMCO directory tree contain inventories of anthropogenic aircraft and ship emissions.

Inventory	More info	Path	Data size	Status
CEDS_SHIP CEDS ship emissions Data Years: 1970-2017	README	$ROOT/CEDS/v2020-08	73 GB	DEFAULT SETTING Emissions are summed over all fuel sectors.
CEDS_SHIP_byFuelType Sectorial CEDS ship emissions Data Years: 1970-2017	README	$ROOT/CEDS/v2020-08	73 GB	OPTIONAL SETTING Emissions are for individual fuel sectors. Incurs additional I/O overhead.
HTAP_SHIP CO, NO, SO2 ship emissions from the HTAP inventory Data Years: 2008-2010	README	$ROOT/HTAP/v2015-03	4.5 GB	OPTIONAL SETTING See this document for more information.
ICOADS_SHIP CO ship emissions from the ICOADS inventory Data Years: 2002	README	$ROOT/ICOADS_SHIP/v2014-07	4.2 MB	OPTIONAL SETTING Was default setting until GEOS-Chem 12.1.0.
ARCTAS_SHIP SO2 ship emissions from the ARCTAS inventory Data Years: 2008	README	$ROOT/ARCTAS_SHIP/v2014-07	508 KB	OPTIONAL SETTING Was default setting until GEOS-Chem 12.1.0.
CORBETT_SHIP SO2 ship emissions from Corbett et al inventory Data Years: 1985	README	$ROOT/CORBETT_SHIP/v2014-07	1.8 MB	OPTIONAL SETTING Was default setting until GEOS-Chem 12.1.0.
NEI2011_SHIP Hourly ship emissions from the NEI_2011 inventory Data Years: 2006-2013	README	$ROOT/NEI2011/v2015-03	248 GB	OPTIONAL SETTING NOTE: Only extends a few km from land, so this is more of a coastal emissions inventory.
NEI2011_SHIP_MONMEAN Monthly mean ship emissions from the NEI2011 inventory Data Years: 2006-2013	README	$ROOT/NEI2011/v2017-02-MM	248 GB	OPTIONAL SETTING NOTE: Only extends a few km from land, so this is more of a coastal emissions inventory.

NOTES about ship emissions:

1. CEDS ship emissions are the default ship inventory in GEOS-Chem 12.1.0 and later versions.
   • Data files for CEDS ship emissions are stored with the other CEDS emission sector files in the HEMCO data path: $ROOT/CEDS/v2018-04/.
2. If CEDS emissions are turned off above then:
   • ARCTAS should be used over ICOADS, CORBETT, and HTAP for SO2
   • ICOADS should be used for CO and NO.

Future emissions

Inventory	More info	Path	Data size	Status
RCP_3PD Emissions for scenario RCP_3PD Data Years: 2005-2100	README	$ROOT/RCP/v2020-07/RCP_3PD	91 MB	OPTIONAL SETTING
RCP_45 Emissions for scenario RCP_45 Data Years: 2005-2100	README	$ROOT/RCP/v2020-07/RCP_45	93 MB	OPTIONAL SETTING
RCP_60 Emissions for scenario RCP_60 Data Years: 2005-2100	README	$ROOT/RCP/v2020-07/RCP_60	92 MB	OPTIONAL SETTING
RCP_85 Emissions for scenario RCP_85 Data Years: 2005-2100	README	$ROOT/RCP/v2020-07/RCP_85	93 MB	OPTIONAL SETTING

Biomass burning emissions (not implemented as extensions)

NOTE: Some biomass burning inventories are implemented as HEMCO extensions. See this section below for more information.

The following subdirectories of the HEMCO directory tree contain inventories of biomass burning emissions.

Inventory	More info	Path	Data size	Status
GFAS CAMS Global Fire Assimilation System estimated emissions Injection height info is taken from ECMWF fire observations ECMWF operational weather forecasts. Data Years: 2003-2020	README	$ROOT/GFAS/v2018-09	49 GB	OPTIONAL SETTING Monthly data are available from 2003-present and are updated monthly
QFED Quick Fire Emissions Database (v2.5r1) Data Years: 2003-2020	README	$ROOT/QFED/v2018-07	247 GB	OPTIONAL SETTING QFED v2.5r1 data extends from 2000-2020

Offline grid-independent emissions

Offline grid-independent emissions were generated by running high-resolution (0.25°x0.3125° for GEOS-FP, 0.5°x0.625° for MERRA-2) simulations using the HEMCO standalone and online emissions from the HEMCO extensions.

Inventory	More info	Path	Data size	Status
OFFLINE_DUST Dust emissions archived from HEMCO standalone simulations Data Years: 1980-2020	README	$ROOT/OFFLINE_DUST/v2019-01	18 GB	DEFAULT SETTING Introduced in 12.5.0 You must also turn off the DustDead and DustGinoux extensions
OFFLINE_BIOGENICVOC Biogenic VOC emissions generated from HEMCO standalone simulations Data Years: 1980-2020	README	$ROOT/OFFLINE_BIOVOC/v2019-01	1400 GB	DEFAULT SETTING Introduced in 12.5.0 NOTE: The MEGAN extension should remain on so that it can calculate biogenic emissions for some species not in this inventory.
OFFLINE_SEASALT Sea salt emissions generated from HEMCO standalone simulations Data Years: 1980-2020	README	$ROOT/OFFLINE_SEASALT/v2019-01	876 GB	DEFAULT SETTING Introduced in 12.5.0 To use this, turn off the SeaSalt extension
OFFLINE_SOILNOX Soil NOx emissions generated from HEMCO standalone simulations Data Years: 1980-2020	README	$ROOT/OFFLINE_SOILNOX/v2019-01	48 GB	DEFAULT SETTING Introduced in 12.5.0 You must also turn off the SoilNOx extension

Non-emissions data

The following subdirectories of the HEMCO directory tree input data contains non-emissions data sets. Most of these are used as inputs to GEOS-Chem's chemistry modules (i.e. photolysis, stratospheric chemistry, etc.).

Inventory	More info	Path	Data size	Status
UVALBEDO Hermann & Celarier [1997] UV surface albedo data Data years: 1997 (1985 timestamps) Needed for FAST-JX photolysis	README	$ROOT/UVALBEDO/v2019-06	476 KB	DEFAULT SETTING
CCM_STRAT_Bry Stratospheric Bry from the CCM model Data years: 2007	README	$ROOT/STRAT/v2015-01/Bry	385 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
GMI_STRAT_OH OH concentration (v/v) from the GMI model Data years: 2005	README	$ROOT/GMI/v2015-02	16 GB	DEFAULT SETTING
GMI_PROD_LOSS P & L rates from the GMI model Data years: 2005				DEFAULT SETTING
UCX_PROD_LOSS P & L rates from GEOS-Chem simulations with UCX Data years: 2013	README	$ROOT/UCX/v2018-02	12 GB	OPTIONAL SETTING Can be used instead of GMI_PROD_LOSS
OMOC_RATIO Spatially varying OM/OC ratios for SOA species Data years: 2010	README	$ROOT/OMOC/v2018-01	8.6 MB	OPTIONAL Controlled by a switch in input.geos (default is OFF)
GMD_SFC_CH4 NOAA GMD monthly mean surface methane distributions Data years: 1979-2020	[1]	$ROOT/NOAA_GMD/v2018-01	85 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
CMIP6_SFC_CH4 CMIP6 monthly mean surface methane distributions Data years: 1750-1978	[2]	$ROOT/CMIP6/v2019-12	85 MB	OPTIONAL SETTING
OLSON_LANDMAP Masks for each Olson land type Data years: 1985	README	$ROOT/OLSON_MAP/v2019-02	1.9 MB	DEFAULT SETTING Added in GEOS-Chem 12.3.0 Used for regridding of MODIS_XLAI or Yuan_XLAI via HEMCO
YUAN_MODIS_LAI Yuan-processed MODIS XLAI (leaf area index per land type) Data years: 2005-2016	README	$ROOT/Yuan_XLAI/v2019-03	203 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
RRTMG RRTMG radiative transfer model input data (e.g. surface reflectances etc.)	README	$ROOT/RRTMG/v2018-11	19 MB	OPTIONAL SETTING Only needed for fullchem simulations with the RRTMG option
SfcVMR Latitudinally and monthly resolved fixed surface concentrations for long-lived organohalogen species from GMI and UCX (1959-2099) Data years: 1750-2014	README	HEMCO/SfcFix/v2019-12	851 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
OCEAN_O3_DRYDEP Ozone deposition to the ocean Data years: 1985	README	HEMCO/OCEAN_O3_DRYDEP/v2020-02	388 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
Timezone offsets from UTC Used by HEMCO to compute emissions that depend on local time rather than on UTC time. NOTE: Always read, there is no on/off switch	README	$ROOT/TIMEZONES/v2015-02	264 KB	DEFAULT SETTING

Emissions implemented as HEMCO extensions

The following subdirectories of the HEMCO directory tree contain input data used by various HEMCO extensions. These HEMCO extensions compute emissions for quantities that depend on meteorological variables (e.g. emissions from lighting, biogenic processes, etc.).

Inventory	More info	Path	Data size	Status
SeaFlux Ocean exchange	README1 README2 README3	$ROOT/ACET/v2014-07 $ROOT/ALD2/v2017-03 $ROOT/DMS/v2015-07	5.8 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
ParaNOx PARANOX ship plume model, computes the aging of emissions in ship exhaust plumes.	README	$ROOT/PARANOX/v2015-02	162 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
LightNOx Computes NO from lightning May be used instead of OFFLINE_LIGHTNING	README	$ROOT/LIGHTNOX/v2017-09	32 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
LightNOx Computes NO from lightning May be used instead of OFFLINE_LIGHTNING	README	$ROOT/LIGHTNOX/v2017-09	32 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
SoilNOx Hudman et al [2012] soil NOx emissions algorithm May be used instead of OFFLINE_SOILNOX	README	$ROOT/SOILNOX/v2014-07	730 MB	OPTIONAL SETTING Was default until GEOS-Chem 12.5.0
DustDead DEAD dust model (cf. Zender)	README	$ROOT/DUST_DEAD/2014-07	712 KB	OPTIONAL SETTING May be used instead of OFFLINE_DUST
DustGinoux Ginoux et al dust model	README	$ROOT/DUST_GINOUX/2014-07	36 KB	OPTIONAL SETTING This is a research option.
SeaSalt Sea salt emissions	Does not have an associated data directory			OPTIONAL SETTING May be used instead of OFFLINE_SEASALT
MEGAN MEGAN v2.1 biogenic emissions	README	$ROOT/MEGAN/v2018-05	12 MB	DEFAULT SETTING NOTE: Is used alongside OFFLINE_BIOVOC to compute emissions for certan species that are not included in the OFFLINE_BIOVOC inventory
GFED4 GFED4 biomass burning v4.1, data directory contains dry matter and other inputs Data Years: 1988-2019 (monthly-mean) Daily & hourly emissions are possible with the use of scale factors.	README	$ROOT/GFED4/v2020-02	296 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
FINN FINN biomass burning (v1.5) Data Years: 2002-2016	README	$ROOT/FINN/v2015-02	1.2 GB	OPTIONAL SETTING This is a research option
DustAlk Computes dust alkalinity (for aciduptake simulation only)	Does not have an associated data directory.			OPTIONAL SETTING This is a research option
[[Volcanic_SO2_emissions|Volcano] Volcanic SO2 emissions from Aerocom Data Years: 1978-2020	README	$ROOT/VOLCANO/v2019-08	63 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
Inorg_Iodine Inorganic iodine emissions (HOI, I2)	Does not have an associated data directory.			DEFAULT SETTING

Aerosol emissions

The following subdirectories of the HEMCO directory tree contain aerosol emission inventories.

NOTE: AeroCom volcanic SO2 emissions are listed under the Emissions implemented as HEMCO extensions.

Inventory	Data file info	Path	Directory size	Status
Secondary organic aerosols	README	$ROOT/SOA/2014-07	3.0 MB	DEFAULT SETTING Contain various inputs for SOA simulations.

GEOS-Chem specialty simulation data

The following subdirectories of the HEMCO directory tree input data (emissions, oxidants, etc.) for use with the GEOS-Chem specialty simulations. If you do not regularly use these simulations, you may choose not to download these data directories.

Inventory	Data file info	Path	Directory size	Status
Active inventories (turned ON by default in the standard emissions configuration)
Aerosol-only simulation	README	$ROOT/OFFLINE_AEROSOL/v2014-09	165 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
CH4 simulation	README1 README2	$ROOT/CH4/v2017-10 $ROOT/CH4/v2014-09	274 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
CO2 simulation	README1 README2 README3 README4 README5 README6	$ROOT/CO2/v2015-04 $ROOT/CO2/v2015-04/BIO/ $ROOT/CO2/v2015-04/BIOFUEL/ $ROOT/CO2/v2015-04/CHEM/ $ROOT/CO2/v2015-04/FOSSIL/ $ROOT/CO2/v2015-04/OCEAN/	1033 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
Mercury simulation	README1 README2 README3 README4 README5 README6 README7 README8 README9 README10	$ROOT/MERCURY/v2014-09 $ROOT/MERCURY/v2014-09/ARTISANAL $ROOT/MERCURY/v2014-09/BrOx $ROOT/MERCURY/v2014-09/Hg2_PARTITION $ROOT/MERCURY/v2014-09/JVALUES $ROOT/MERCURY/v2014-09/NATURAL $ROOT/MERCURY/v2014-09/NEI2005 $ROOT/MERCURY/v2014-09/OCEAN $ROOT/MERCURY/v2014-09/SOIL $ROOT/MERCURY/v2014-09/STREETS	342 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
POPs simulation	README	$$ROOT/POPs/v2015-08	809 MB	DEFAULT SETTING Data corresponds to the POPs simulation update in v11-01c
Tagged CO simulation	README	$ROOT/TAGGED_CO/v2017-04	260 KB	DEFAULT SETTING Contains files for the updated Tagged CO simulation in GEOS-Chem v11-02
Tagged O3 simulation	README	$ROOT/TAGGED_O3/v2014-09	372 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
O3 for offline simulations	README	$ROOT/O3/v2014-09	130 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
OH for offline simulations	README1 README2	$ROOT/OH/v2014-09 $ROOT/OH/v2014-09/v5-07-08 $ROOT/OH/v2014-09/v7-02-03.GMI	148 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
H2O2 for offline simulations	README	$ROOT/OXIDANTS/v2014-07	32 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
Oceanic Chlorophyll-A for Hg simulations	README	$ROOT/CHLA/v2014-07	2.0 MB	DEFAULT SETTING

Other inputs for HEMCO

The following subdirectories of the HEMCO directory tree input data for various HEMCO functions. These include regional masks, emission scale factors, and grid information.

Inventory	Data file info	Path	Directory size	Status
Active inventories (turned ON by default in the standard emissions configuration)
Annual scale factors	README	$ROOT/AnnualScalar/v2014-07	3.0 MB	DEFAULT SETTING Used to scale NEI2005 and other emissions to years other than the inventory base year.
NEI2005 scale factors	README	$ROOT/NEI2005/v2014-09	8.1 MB	DEFAULT SETTING
ID codes for each country	README	$ROOT/COUNTRY_ID/v2015-04	15 MB	DEFAULT SETTING ISO ALPHA-3 standard country codes are contained on an 0.1° x 0.1° grid. HEMCO can use these ID's to apply country-level scale factors to any emissions field.
Mask files for regional emissions	README	$ROOT/MASKS/v2014-07	51 MB	DEFAULT SETTING Masks define the geographical regions where the various regional emissions (e.g. BRAVO, CAC, NEI) are to be applied.
MAP_A2A regridding data	README	$ROOT/MAP_A2A/v2014-07	152 KB	DEFAULT SETTING
Obsolete inventories (superseded by newer developments)
Weekly scale factors	README	$ROOT/WEEKSCALE/v2014-07	4.0 KB	OBSOLETE Not currently in use

--Bob Yantosca (talk) 19:05, 2 July 2018 (UTC)

Submitting new data for use with HEMCO

If you have a new emissions inventory or other atmospheric data set that you would like to add to the HEMCO data directories, then please contact the GEOS-Chem Support Team. Data files must be in COARDS-compliant or CF-compliant netCDF format. Please see the following pages for more information:

1. Preparing data files for use with HEMCO
2. Submitting updates for inclusion in GEOS-Chem

--Bob Yantosca (talk) 22:24, 14 January 2020 (UTC)