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Title: Numerical simulation of atmospheric dispersion in the vicinity of the Rocky Flats plant

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6379454

The Atmospheric Studies in Complex Terrain (ASCOT) program sponsored a field experiment in the winter of 1991 near Rocky Flats, Colorado. Both meteorological and tracer dispersion measurements were taken. These two data sets provided an opportunity to investigate the influence of terrain-generated, radiatively-driven flows on the dispersion of the tracer. In this study, we use the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) to simulate meteorological conditions and tracer dispersion on the case night of 4--5 February 1991. The simulations were developed to examine the influence of nocturnal drainage flow from various topography regimes on the dispersion of tracer from the Rocky Flats plant. The simulation described herein demonstrates the extent to which Rocky Mountain drainage winds influence the flow at the mountain/plain interface for a particular case night, and shows the potential importance of canyon drainage on dispersion from the Rocky Flats area.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
OSTI ID:
6379454
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-93-1797; CONF-930810-3; ON: DE93014562
Resource Relation:
Conference: Topical meeting on environmental transport and dosimetry, Charleston, SC (United States), 31 Aug - 3 Sep 1993
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English