How to define sources in CALPUFF

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alexander bahamondes

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Sep 4, 2025, 10:30:37 AM9/4/25

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Hello everyone,

I’m working with CALPUFF (I use the non-GUI version), but my question is more methodological, so I think any CALPUFF user, even those using graphical interfaces, could provide guidance.

The inventories I receive are in GIS format (shapefiles) and include:

Irregular polygons with multiple vertices.
Roads and streets represented as line geometries tracing their actual path.
Emission rates associated with each element in the inventory.

I understand that in CALPUFF, sources must be defined as point, volume, area, or line sources, and there are others such as road sources. My question concerns the practical and conceptual process of translating these shapes into CALPUFF source definitions:

When dealing with irregular polygons with multiple vertices, how do you represent them using one of the source types CALPUFF allows? Which types do you usually choose, and based on what criteria?
For roads and streets, which option do you typically use in CALPUFF? Do you use road sources or line sources? What criteria guide this choice?
In general, what recommendations do you have for deciding which source type to use (point, volume, area, line, road, etc.) when the original inventory comes in shapefile format with complex geometries?

Or, if in reality the data isn’t received as shapefiles but in another format (and if so, which one, and whether it’s easier).

My initial thought is that geometries might be simplified while keeping the original areas or lengths, although I’m not sure if that’s the correct approach. I’d rather hear how you handle this, and I apologize if the question seems very basic.