Incorporating a Full-Physics Meteorological Model into an Applied Atmospheric Dispersion Modeling System
A new modeling system has been developed to provide a non-meteorologist with tools to predict air pollution transport in regions of complex terrain. This system couples the Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model 5 (MM5) with Earth Tech’s CALMET-CALPUFF system using a unique Graphical User Interface (GUI) developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. This system is most useful in data-sparse regions, where there are limited observations to initialize the CALMET model. The user is able to define the domain of interest, provide details about the source term, and enter a surface weather observation through the GUI. The system then generates initial conditions and time constant boundary conditions for use by MM5. MM5 is run and the results are piped to CALPUFF for the dispersion calculations. Contour plots of pollutant concentration are prepared for the user. The primary advantages of the system are the streamlined application of MM5 and CALMET, limited data requirements, and the ability to run the coupled system on a desktop or laptop computer. In comparison with data collected as part of a field campaign, the new modeling system shows promise that a full-physics mesoscale model can be used in an applied modeling system to effectively simulate locally thermally-driven winds with minimal observations as input. An unexpected outcome of this research was how well CALMET represented the locally thermally-driven flows.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 15016095
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-42068; TRN: US200509%%916
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Urban and Regional Air Quality Forecasting (Joint conference: Fifth Symposium on the Urban Environment and the 13th Conference on the Applications of Air Pollution. American Meteorological Society and Air & Waste Management Association), 5
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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