Transport and diffusion climatology of the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:5708873

Raynor, G S; Hayes, J V

This study is part of a larger study of coastal meteorology and diffusion and was planned to assist in site selection of energy facilities by describing the transport and diffusion climatology of the United States east and Gulf coasts in as much detail as can be extracted from readily available meteorological data. The area covered in this study is the United States east and Gulf coasts from Maine to Texas. The region studied is all within the coastal plain and is generally characterized by flat beaches and very gentle slopes inland except in New England, where the coast is more rugged and the terrain hilly close to the sea. Meteorological variables of primary concern in this study are those which govern or influence transport and diffusion of airborne gases and particles. The most important are wind direction and speed and some measure of diffusive capacity such as turbulence, gustiness or lapse rate. Eight stations were chosen to give four pairs for comparison between a coastal station and another somewhat farther inland. The pairs are Boston and Bedford, Massachusetts; Belmar and Lakehurst, New Jersey; Cape Kennedy and Orlando, Florida; and Galveston and Houston, Texas. The same years of data were obtained for both stations in each pair. Results of selected examples are presented. The frequency of calms and of winds in the three sectors relative to the coastline is reported for the 25 coastal stations from Portland, Maine (PWM) to Brownsville, Texas (BRO). Differences between day and night in wind direction distribution are shown for six selected stations. The frequency of the five diffusion rating classes at the same coastal stations during onshore winds is also shown. Differences in dffusion conditions between day and night at six selected stations are given. The results obtained were arranged for easy use with diffusion models in which the primary meteorological inputs are wind speed and measures of lateral and vertical diffusion. (JGB)

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-02-0016
• OSTI ID: 5708873
• Report Number(s): BNL-26891; CONF-800107-4; TRN: 80-005290
• Resource Relation: Conference: 2. conference on coastal meteorology, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 30 Jan 1980
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AEROSOLS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
COASTAL REGIONS
METEOROLOGY
AIR POLLUTION
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CLIMATES
DAILY VARIATIONS
DIFFUSION
ENERGY FACILITIES
FLORIDA
GULF OF MEXICO
MAINE
MASSACHUSETTS
MONITORING
NEW JERSEY
SITE SELECTION
TEXAS
USA
WIND
CARIBBEAN SEA
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
MASS TRANSFER
MID-ATLANTIC REGION
NORTH AMERICA
NORTH ATLANTIC REGION
POLLUTION
SEAS
SOLS
SOUTHEAST REGION
SOUTHWEST REGION
SURFACE WATERS
VARIATIONS
500100* - Environment
Atmospheric- Basic Studies- (-1989)