1.1 Windows PC HYSPLIT Install

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The public-unregistered or registered versions of HYSPLIT should be downloaded as noted below. The installation contains all the executables, documentation, and some test meteorological data. The graphical user interface requires Tcl/Tk, Ghostscript utilities, and ImageMagick, and they should be installed in the order shown below. If you have already installed these successfully for a previous version of HYSPLIT, you will not generally have to re-install them when you update HYSPLIT. Optional programs such as Google Earth and ArcExplorer may be installed if desired. Each software component must be downloaded from its own vendor or distributor web page, unless noted below. For some programs, selections exist for either a 32-bit or 64-bit download. HYSPLIT is provided only for a 64-bit OS. If you are unsure of which system is installed on your computer, check the control panel system tab for the operating system.

  1. Tcl/Tk Graphical User Interface

    A Tcl/Tk script interpreter is required to run the HYSPLIT GUI. Further, various computations can be automated through the use of Tcl scripts. The standard HYSPLIT installation includes all the GUI scripts, but the Tcl/Tk interpreter is not part of the distribution. You can download and compile the source code, use one of the precompiled binaries available from the Tcl/Tk web site, or download and unzip the ARL compiled version (tcl.zip) to a directory on your computer (C:\tcl for example) which will contain the Windows executable (tcl\bin\wish86t.exe). For other versions, install the software to the suggested default directory prior to installing HYSPLIT.


  2. Postscript Converter

    The HYSPLIT trajectory and concentration display programs create high resolution publication quality graphics files in Postscript format. These can be printed directly on any Postscript printer, and if Ghostscript (GS) has been installed, viewed on the PC display monitor or printed on any non-Postscript printer. Install the software to the suggested default directories. If you are planning to use the Ghostview Postscript Viewer (next) then do not install any GS version newer than 9.52.


  3. Postscript Viewer

    Ghostscript should be installed prior to proceeding with this step because the viewer needs to find the GS installation directory. GSview has been used in the past to display the Postscript images on a PC and can still be used. However, it is no longer supported by its developer. Unsupported versions (gsv50w64.exe) of GSview are still available for download. Ghostscript can be used in place of GSview, but may require a change to the directory location of where HYSPLIT looks for Ghostview (see Section 5 below).


  4. ImageMagick File Converter

    The GUI has a built-in link that permits the conversion of the Postscript graphics output file to most other graphical formats. This capability is enabled through the installation of ImageMagick, which requires the prior installation of Ghostscript to be able to read the Postscript files. Install the software to the suggested default directory but when prompted for additional tasks check the box to Install Legacy Utilities. With ImageMagick installed, it is also possible to use its display program, imdisplay, for Postscript files, rather than Ghostscript or Ghostview. However, the HYSPLIT Postscript graphics are not optimized for this display program.


  5. Windows HYSPLIT Installation

    The HYSPLIT PC installation simply requires running the self-installing executable. HYSPLIT is provided only for a 64-bit OS. You will be prompted for a default installation directory; the suggested default is c:\hysplit. You should install HYSPLIT under the same parent directory as the Tutorial. Installing to the default directory will make it easier to use preconfigured input files during the Tutorial as well as running example scripts without editing the directory pointer. If installation to another directory name is required, avoid directories with embedded spaces because many programs in the HYSPLIT system use the space as a file name delimiter. A desktop icon and quick-start drop down menu will also be installed. If you do not want to install on top of an existing version, it is best to rename the old \hysplit directory before proceeding. Note that the registered version is identical to the unregistered version in all respects except that the unregistered version dispersion model (for concentration predictions) only works with archival data and cannot be run using forecast data. Note that the unregistered version will work with all examples in this Tutorial.

    If you downloaded the ARL tcl.zip file, after unzipping the file, let's assume the binary (wish86t.exe) resides under C:\tcl\bin, right-click the HYSPLIT shortcut "Run Hysplit" on the desktop, then Properties. In the Target: field, add C:\tcl\bin\wish86t.exe before C:\hysplit\guicode\hysplit.tcl (assuming hysplit was installed in C:\hysplit and separate these two strings with a blank space). Also wish86t.exe may require a system reboot and the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable update, if that is not already installed on your system. Both vc_redist.{x64|x86}.exe should be installed. If you installed one of the developer's Tcl/Tk packages, the above steps would not be required.

    If Ghostscript is used in place of GSview, you may be required to change the directory location of where HYSPLIT looks for Ghostview in the "Set Directories" GUI menu under the Advanced/Configuration Setup tab. Set it to the same location and executable name gswin64.exe as Ghostscript. Do not use the console version gswin64c.exe.



  6. Optional Python Emulator

    A new class of display programs for trajectories and air concentration contours using the Python language has been developed. These programs are still undergoing modifications to their capabilities and interface requirements. To use them a Python emulator is required. If the Python display programs are provided with your HYSPLIT distribution, you will find detailed installation instructions in the python directory (e.g. install_win10.txt). More information about these displays can be found in the Python section. A system reboot may be required after installation.

  7. Optional GIS Viewer

    The GUI includes an option to convert various graphical products to the ESRI shapefile format. These shapefiles can then be imported and viewed in ArcExplorer or other compatible programs. It is then possible to overlay trajectories, meteorological data, and concentration contours, all on the same map background using the GIS software. Note that administrator access is usually required to install these programs. HYSPLIT also permits the use of shapefiles (.shp only) in defining the map background layers in the existing trajectory and concentration plotting programs.


  8. Optional Google Earth Viewer

    HYSPLIT trajectory and concentration output files can be converted to a format that is compatible for display with Google Earth. The conversion results in zip file (.kmz) that contains all the files required by Google Earth. A double-click on the "kmz" file will open Google Earth and it will automatically zoom to the display. Google Earth gives the best results for computers connected to the Internet, permitting access to its on-line geographic database.


  9. Optional MeteoInfo and TrajStat

    MeteoInfo is a freely available software designed to view and analyze meteorological and spatial data interactively. Supported meteorological data formats: GrADS binary grid and station data, NetCDF grid data, GRIB edition 1 and 2 data, HDF EOS5 data, ARL packed meteorological data, and HYSPLIT model output data (concentration, particle, trajectory). TrajStat is for the statistical analysis of air mass back trajectories combined with long-term ambient air pollution measurements and includes tools for source identification, cluster the trajectories, compute the potential source contribution functions (PSCF), and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) analyses when measurement data are available.



  10. Tutorial Tips

    There are several things that you can do to configure Windows to make it a little easier to follow along with some of the tutorial examples. One is to put a short-cut link to Notepad on the desktop so that files without text extensions can easily be opened and viewed. Depending upon your version of Windows, one of these methods should work: 1) Start Menu, All Programs, Windows Accessories, right click on Notepad, More, Pin to Taskbar. 2) Start Menu, All Programs, Windows Accessories, and drag the Notepad icon to empty spot on Desktop. 3) Right-click on desktop, New, Shortcut, C:\Windows\notepad.exe, Next, and Finish.

    The second, if File Explorer is not already configured to view all file extensions, open the View tab of Folder Options File Menu in the Control Panel, and uncheck the box for Hide extensions for known file types.

    It can also be helpful to add the Tutorial directory to the Favorites (or Quick Access) in Windows Explorer. To do this, navigate to the Tutorial directory in Windows Explorer, then right click on "Favorites" (near the top of the left panel), and select add current location to favorites.