Scheme options

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Warning

DEPRECATED: This table-based input format is deprecated as of 2025. Please use the modern YAML format instead. See our transition guide for migration help.

4.7.3.2.1. Scheme options#

CBLUse#

Requirement:: Required
Description:: Determines whether a CBL slab model is used to calculate temperature and humidity.
Configuration:

SnowUse#

Requirement:

Required

Description:

Determines whether the snow part of the model runs.

Configuration:

Value	Comments
0	Snow calculations are not performed.
1	Snow calculations are performed.

NetRadiationMethod#

Requirement:

Required

Description:

Determines method for calculation of radiation fluxes.

Configuration:

Value	Comments
0	Uses observed values of Q* supplied in meteorological forcing file.
1	Q* modelled with L↓ observations supplied in meteorological forcing file. Zenith angle not accounted for in albedo calculation.
2	Q* modelled with L↓ modelled using cloud cover fraction supplied in meteorological forcing file [Loridan et al., 2011]. Zenith angle not accounted for in albedo calculation.
3	Q* modelled with L↓ modelled using air temperature and relative humidity supplied in meteorological forcing file [Loridan et al., 2011]. Zenith angle not accounted for in albedo calculation.
11	Same as `1` but with L↑ modelled using surface temperature Not recommended in this version.
12	Same as `2` but with L↑ modelled using surface temperature Not recommended in this version.
13	Same as `3` but with L↑ modelled using surface temperature Not recommended in this version.
100	Q* modelled with L↓ observations supplied in meteorological forcing file. Zenith angle accounted for in albedo calculation. SSss_YYYY_NARPOut.txt file produced. Not recommended in this version.
200	Q* modelled with L↓ modelled using cloud cover fraction supplied in meteorological forcing file [Loridan et al., 2011]. Zenith angle accounted for in albedo calculation. SSss_YYYY_NARPOut.txt file produced. Not recommended in this version.
300	Q* modelled with L↓ modelled using air temperature and relative humidity supplied in meteorological forcing file [Loridan et al., 2011]. Zenith angle accounted for in albedo calculation. SSss_YYYY_NARPOut.txt file produced. Not recommended in this version.
1001	Q* modelled with SPARTACUS-Surface (SS) but with L↓ modelled as in `1`. Experimental in this version.
1002	Q* modelled with SPARTACUS-Surface (SS) but with L↓ modelled as in `2`. Experimental in this version.
1003	Q* modelled with SPARTACUS-Surface (SS) but with L↓ modelled as in `3`. Experimental in this version.

BaseTMethod#

Deprecated since version v2025a: This option has been removed. The model now always uses weekday/weekend-specific base temperatures (BaseT_Heating and BaseT_Cooling) for HDD/CDD calculations. If present in legacy input files, this parameter is ignored.

Requirement:: Optional (ignored)
Description:: Previously determined method for base temperature used in HDD/CDD calculations. Now deprecated in favour of always using weekday/weekend-specific base temperatures.

EmissionsMethod#

Requirement:: Required
Description:: Determines method for QF calculation.

Note

Methods 11-46 include biogenic CO2 calculations and are experimental. While scientifically validated against established photosynthesis models, users should verify results for their specific applications. See SUEWS_BiogenCO2.txt for required parameters.

Configuration:

Value	Comments
0	Uses values provided in the meteorological forcing file (SSss_YYYY_data_tt.txt) to calculate QF. If you do not want to include QF to the calculation of surface energy balance, you should set values in the meteorological forcing file to zero to prevent calculation of QF. UMEP provides two methods to calculate QF LQF which is simpler GQF which is more complete but requires more data inputs
1	Not recommended in this version. QF calculated according to Loridan et al. [2011] using coefficients specified in SUEWS_AnthropogenicEmission.txt. Modelled values will be used even if QF is provided in the meteorological forcing file. CO2 emission is not calculated.
2	Recommended in this version. QF calculated according to Järvi et al. [2011] using coefficients specified in SUEWS_AnthropogenicEmission.txt and diurnal patterns specified in SUEWS_Profiles.txt. Modelled values will be used even if QF is provided in the meteorological forcing file. CO2 emission is not calculated.
3	Updated Loridan et al. [2011] method using daily (not instantaneous) air temperature (HDD(id-1,3)) using coefficients specified in SUEWS_AnthropogenicEmission.txt. CO2 emission is not calculated.
4	Detailed anthropogenic heat branch using the Loridan et al. [2011] heat basis plus building, metabolism, and traffic components from SUEWS_AnthropogenicEmission.txt and SUEWS_Profiles.txt. Modelled values will be used even if QF is provided in the meteorological forcing file. CO2 flux output is disabled for this non-biogenic code.
5	Detailed anthropogenic heat branch using the Järvi et al. [2011] heat basis plus building, metabolism, and traffic components from SUEWS_AnthropogenicEmission.txt and SUEWS_Profiles.txt. Modelled values will be used even if QF is provided in the meteorological forcing file. CO2 flux output is disabled for this non-biogenic code.
6	Detailed anthropogenic heat branch using the updated Loridan et al. [2011] heat basis plus building, metabolism, and traffic components from SUEWS_AnthropogenicEmission.txt and SUEWS_Profiles.txt. Modelled values will be used even if QF is provided in the meteorological forcing file. CO2 flux output is disabled for this non-biogenic code.
11-16	Experimental in this version. Rectangular hyperbola photosynthesis model with biogenic CO2. The unit digit selects the heat/QF and anthropogenic CO2 mode: 1-3 use QF-linked anthropogenic CO2 with L11, J11, and L11_UPDATED heat; 4-6 use detailed anthropogenic CO2 with the same three heat methods. Parameters from SUEWS_BiogenCO2.txt. Total Fc = Fc_anthro + Fc_biogen.
21-26	Experimental in this version. Non-rectangular hyperbola photosynthesis model following the local/Helsinki Bellucco et al. [2017] model. The unit digit selects the same heat/QF and anthropogenic CO2 modes as 11-16. Parameters from SUEWS_BiogenCO2.txt. Total Fc = Fc_anthro + Fc_biogen.
31-36	Experimental in this version. Non-rectangular hyperbola photosynthesis model following the general Bellucco et al. [2017] model. The unit digit selects the same heat/QF and anthropogenic CO2 modes as 11-16. Parameters from SUEWS_BiogenCO2.txt. Total Fc = Fc_anthro + Fc_biogen.
41-46	Experimental in this version. Conductance-based photosynthesis model following Järvi et al. [2019]. Biogenic CO2 is scaled by stomatal conductance (gfunc). The unit digit selects the same heat/QF and anthropogenic CO2 modes as 11-16. Parameters from SUEWS_BiogenCO2.txt. Total Fc = Fc_anthro + Fc_biogen.

StorageHeatMethod#

Requirement:

Required

Description:

Determines method for calculating storage heat flux ΔQS.

Configuration:

Value	Comments
0	Uses observed values of ΔQS supplied in meteorological forcing file.
1	ΔQS modelled using the objective hysteresis model (OHM) [Grimmond et al., 1991] using parameters specified for each surface type.
3	ΔQS modelled using AnOHM [Sun et al., 2017]. Not recommended in this version.
4	ΔQS modelled using the Element Surface Temperature Method (ESTM) [Offerle et al., 2005]. Not recommended in this version.

OHMIncQF#

Requirement:

Required

Description:

Determines whether the storage heat flux calculation uses Q\ ^* or ( Q\ ^* +QF).

Configuration:

Value	Comments
0	ΔQS modelled Q* only.
1	ΔQS modelled using Q*+QF.

StabilityMethod#

Requirement:

Required

Description:

Defines which atmospheric stability functions are used.

Configuration:

Value	Comments
0	Not used.
1	Not used.
2	Momentum: unstable: Dyer [1974] modified by Högström [1988] stable: Van Ulden and Holtslag [1985] Heat: Dyer [1974] modified by Högström [1988] Not recommended in this version.
3	Momentum: Campbell and Norman [1998] (Eq 7.27, Pg97) Heat unstable: Campbell and Norman [1998] stable: Campbell and Norman [1998] Recommended in this version.
4	Momentum: Businger et al. [1971] modified by Högström [1988] Heat: Businger et al. [1971] modified by Högström [1988] Not recommended in this version.

RoughLenHeatMethod#

Requirement:

Required

Description:

Determines method for calculating roughness length for heat.

Configuration:

Value	Comments
1	Uses value of 0.1*z0m.
2	Calculated according to Kawai et al. [2009].
3	Calculated according to Voogt and Grimmond [2000].
4	Calculated according to Kanda et al. [2007].
5	Adaptively using z0m based on pervious coverage: if fully pervious, use method `1`; otherwise, use method `2`. Recommended in this version.

RoughLenMomMethod#

Requirement:

Required

Description:

Determines how aerodynamic roughness length (z0m) and zero displacement height (zdm) are calculated.

Configuration:

Value	Comments
1	Values specified in SUEWS_SiteSelect.txt are used. Tip Note that UMEP provides tools to calculate these. See Kent et al. [2017] for recommendations on methods. Kent et al. [2017] have developed a method to include vegetation which is also avaialble within UMEP.
2	z0m and zd are calculated using ‘rule of thumb’ [Grimmond and Oke, 1999] using mean building and tree height specified in SUEWS_SiteSelect.txt. z0m and zd are adjusted with time to account for seasonal variation in porosity of deciduous trees.
3	z0m and zd are calculated based on the Macdonald et al. [1998] method using mean building and tree heights, plan area fraction and frontal areal index specified in SUEWS_SiteSelect.txt. z0m and zd are adjusted with time to account for seasonal variation in porosity of deciduous trees.

SMDMethod#

Requirement:

Required

Description:

Determines method for calculating soil moisture deficit (SMD).

Configuration:

Value

Comments

0

SMD modelled using water balance and parameters specified in SUEWS_Soil.txt. The model calculates soil moisture deficit based on precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff. Recommended in this version. for sites without soil moisture observations.

Important considerations: - Requires proper initialization of soil moisture states (soilstore_id values) - Initial values that are too low can lead to severe water stress - May cause FcPhoto to approach zero in summer if not properly configured - Consider enabling irrigation (WaterUseMethod) for urban areas - See troubleshooting guide if FcPhoto values are unexpectedly low

1

Observed SM provided in the meteorological forcing file is used. Data are provided as volumetric soil moisture content [m³ m^-3]. Metadata must be provided in SUEWS_Soil.txt.

Advantages: - Bypasses internal soil water balance calculations - More reliable for sites with good soil moisture measurements - Recommended solution if FcPhoto issues occur with method 0

2

Observed SM provided in the meteorological forcing file is used. Data are provided as gravimetric soil moisture content [kg kg^-1]. Metadata must be provided in SUEWS_Soil.txt.

Note: The model will convert gravimetric to volumetric content using soil bulk density.

SOLWEIGUse#

Deprecated since version v2020a.

Requirement:

Required

Description:

Determines whether SOLWEIG is used to calculate detailed radiation balance of all facets.

Configuration:

Value	Comments
0	SOLWEIG calculations are not performed.
1	SOLWEIG calculations are performed. A grid of mean radiant temperature (Tmrt) is calculated based on high resolution digital surface models.

WaterUseMethod#

Requirement:

Required

Description:

Defines how external water use is calculated.

Configuration:

Value	Comments
0	External water use modelled using parameters specified in SUEWS_Irrigation.txt.
1	Observations of external water use provided in the meteorological forcing file are used.

DiagMethod#

Requirement:

Required

Description:

Defines how near surface diagnostics are calculated.

Configuration:

Value	Comments
0	Use MOST to calculate near surface diagnostics.
1	Use RST to calculate near surface diagnostics.
2	Use a set of criteria based on plan area index, frontal area index and heights of roughness elements to determine if RSL or MOST should be used.