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U.S. Department of Energy
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Boundary layer circulations and dispersion on New Mexico`s Pajarito Plateau

Conference ·
OSTI ID:519098
Los Alamos National Laboratory`s Technical Area 54 (TA-54) contains a radioactive waste storage and disposal facility. It is located on Mesita del Buey, which extends east-southeasterly on the New Mexico`s Pajarito Plateau. This mesa is one of a series of narrow mesas, hundreds of meters wide, that define the topography of the plateau. The mesas are separated by steep canyons, tens to hundreds of meters deep. Pajarito Canyon is to the south of Mesita del Buey, while Canada del Buey lies to the north. In general, the entire plateau slopes downward toward the east and the Rio Grande Valley, with the highest peaks of the Jemez Mountains to the west. Meterological observations collected at various sites around the Pajarito Plateau indicate that the atmospheric conditions in the area are complex and strongly influenced by the highly-variable local topography. For this study, numerical simulations of the atmospheric circulations in the area around TA-54 are carried out to produce a more detailed depiction of the wind flow than can be provided by the Laboratory`s network of meterological observation towers. Plumes of particles released into these wind fields are simulated as an indication of transport and diffusion from a hypothetical release. 4 refs., 1 fig.
Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Department of Defense, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
OSTI ID:
519098
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--97-1309; CONF-970760--4; ON: DE97007199
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English