Atmospheric studies in complex terrain: executive summary. Technical progress report, FY-1979 through FY-1983

Technical Report · Mon Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1983

OSTI ID:5100543

Gudiksen, P H; Dickerson, M H ^[1]

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1. eds.

In 1978, the Office of Health and Environmental Research of the Assistant Secretary for Environment in the Department of Energy developed a program aimed specifically at atmospheric studies in complex terrain - ASCOT. The ASCOT program was designed to develop the technology needed to assess atmospheric properties and the impact of energy sources on air quality in areas of complex terrain. The ASCOT team is composed of scientists from DOE national laboratories, other federal laboratories, and university programs. To initiate the program, each participating laboratory and university was asked to redirect funds into an area focusing on research that involved atmospheric boundary layer flow subject to interactions with complicated underlying terrain. The two broad objectives under which the program was organized are: to improve fundamental knowledge of transport and dispersion processes in complex terrain; and to utilize this improved insight into the physics of terrain dominated flows to provide a methodology for performing air quality assessments. The initial focus of the ASCOT program has been on the transport and dispersion of pollutants entrained in or near nocturnal drainage flows. This phenomenon was selected on the basis of its importance for transporting pollutants from energy related facilities to population or agricultural centers that are generally situated within valleys. The Geysers geothermal area in northern California, a large geothermal power producing region situated within the coastal-mountain range was chosen as the primary field experimental area. Three series of major field experiments were conducted in this area; while smaller scale studies were carried out at Rattlesnake Mountain near Richland, Washington, Corral Gulch in western Colorado, and on Parajarito Mountain near Los Alamos, New Mexico to evaluate cold air drainage on relatively simple slopes. 1 figure, 4 tables.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 5100543
• Report Number(s): UCID-18878-83-Summ.; ASCOT-84-2; ON: DE84005740
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
510200 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
BOUNDARY LAYERS
CALIFORNIA
COLORADO
COMPLEX TERRAIN
DIFFUSION
DRAINAGE
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EVALUATION
FEDERAL REGION IX
FEDERAL REGION VI
FEDERAL REGION VIII
FEDERAL REGION X
FLOW MODELS
GEOTHERMAL FIELDS
GEYSERS GEOTHERMAL FIELD
LAYERS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MEASURING METHODS
NEW MEXICO
NOCTURNAL VARIATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
POLLUTANTS
POLLUTION
USA
VARIATIONS
WASHINGTON
WIND