Hydrodynamic mesoscale modeling of atmospheric transport and pollutant deposition in the vicinity of a lake

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6442486

Christidis, Z D

This study identifies two meteorological situations common to lakeshore environments, where pollutants can be vertically redistributed resulting in concentration and deposition fields, different from these expected for homogeneous surfaces. In order to study the effects of lakes on pollutant deposition, a hydrodynamic model was developed which included terms for pollutant transport, dispersion and deposition. The modeling domain was centered around (Lake Michigan) to investigate the potential impact of nearby industrial sources. The model is capable of forecasting the local wind, temperature, and pressure patterns as well as evolution of the atmospheric planetary boundary layer parameters. It was found that the presence of a lake in the summertime limits pollutant deposition over its length, due to stabilization and plum entrainment in the lake-breeze. Also the mean height of the resultant plume was predicted to be higher with the influence of a lake-breeze than without. In the other hand, deposition was enhanced over the upwind land due to the lake-breeze effect, and the downwind shore due to enhanced mixing. In the wintertime, the presence of a warm lake caused deposition near the upwind lakeshore greater than predicted without the lake. These limited applications illustrate that dry deposition around a source located by a large lake may be significantly different from that expected around a source located in simple terrain.

• Research Organization: Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6442486
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
DEPOSITION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FORECASTING
GREAT LAKES
LAKE MICHIGAN
LAKES
MASS TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
METEOROLOGY
PLUMES
POLLUTION
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SURFACE WATERS
VARIATIONS
WIND