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The Database File .DAT - Overview

Introduction

Besides the two basic files needed for each simulation (Area Input File and Configuration File) ENVI-met needs to know a lot of additional information about the surfaces, plants or emission sources in the model.

For all these data, the concept followed by ENVI-met is the same:
Each database entry is defined by a two-sign alphanumerical ID (e.g. “a0”). Whenever information must be linked to a database entry, it refers to this ID. For example, if you have defined a plant “a0” in your plant database, you can place it on a grid by setting the ID “a0” to this grid point.

Basically database files are meant to be global files stored in the \sys.basedata directory of the ENVI-met system and they are used for each simulation and all ENVI-met applications.
Consequently, a plant called “a0” used in simulation X will be the same plant in simulation Y, unless you change the database between the simulations.

This also means, that if someone gives you a set of simulations where some new plants (soils,profiles,…) are defined, you need to extend you local database first with these new plants (….) before running the simulation. As this turned out to be confusing in most of the cases, ENVI-met allows also to define local databases for plants and sources. These databases can be stored anywhere and they are added on demand to the global data set (see link list below for more information).

All database files are simple ASCII-files, such as the area input files or the configuration files. The benefit is, that you do not need any databases system to edit and use the files. The drawback is that you must carefully follow the format rules of the databases, otherwise information will be mixed up.

At the moment, there is no editor for the databases available, but it might be available in future. In general it has shown, that the databases are not very often edited, so that the creation of database tools is less important compared to other things.

Click on the following links to see more information about the different databases:

Defining the properties of different natural and artificial soils

Defining different soil types as vertical sandwiches of soils from SOILS.DAT

Defining all plants

Defining the output and emission height of particle or gas sources

LOCALDB Defining additional local databases for plants and sources Links to the [LOCALDB] section description in the Configuration File

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