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U.S. Department of Energy
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Evaluation of the Gaussian plume model at Maryland power plants. Final report Apr 1974--Mar 1977

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6648244
The Gaussian plume model was evaluated by comparing its predictions to measurements of dispersion and ground-level concentrations of sulfur dioxide downwind of the Chalk Point, Dickerson, and Morgantown power plants. A total of 688 individual crosswind SO2 profiles measured at distances ranging from 1.7 km to 33 km downwind of the plants were used in the evaluation. Different methods of estimating dispersion were found to produce significantly different results. Brookhaven dispersion parameters, selected on the basis of wind speed and temperature gradient information, gave best agreement with the measurements. The geometric mean of predicted-to-measured concentration was 1.17, and 71% of the calculated concentrations were within a factor of 2 of the measurements. Pasquill dispersion estimates chosen by the Turner (1964) method, but shifted to the next more unstable stability class, also gave good results. Other algorithms for choosing dispersion parameters including the use of delta theta, the Tennessee Valley Authority approach, and the unmodified Pasquill-Turner method (no shift in stability class) resulted in substantially more unreliable concentration predictions. For a given method of estimating dispersion, the model gave similar results at all three power plants. The problem of plume merging from two nearby stacks and enhanced plume rise was addressed.
Research Organization:
Martin Marietta Corp., Baltimore, MD (USA). Environmental Technology Center
OSTI ID:
6648244
Report Number(s):
PB-277084
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English