Three-dimensional forecasting models on a desk-top computer

Conference · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:6811824

Yamada, T; Bunker, S

Recent advances in the desk-top computer capabilities, particularly those of an engineering workstation, are truly astonishing. A high performance workstation reportedly exceeded a supercomputer in certain scaler operations. Affordability and portability of a desk- top computer opened doors to many applications which were previously considered impossible. The purpose of the present study is to demonstrate the feasibility of using and engineering workstation to operate a three-dimensional mesoscale modeling system to describe the transport and dispersion of atmospheric pollutants over complex terrain surrounding Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), Vandenberg, California. Our modeling system is composed of two numerical codes, HOTMAC, and RAPTAD. HOTMAC is a mesoscale forecast code that is able to model three-dimensional distributions of wind speed, wind direction, turbulence, temperature, and water vapor. RAPTAD is a Lagrangian puff code based on the Monte Carlo statistical diffusion process. RAPTAD can be used under extreme conditions where a conventional Gaussian plume model may fail.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOD
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 6811824
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-90-1386; CONF-9009134--1; ON: DE90010612
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540110*
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990200 -- Mathematics & Computers
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION
COMPUTER CALCULATIONS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COMPUTERS
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FORECASTING
MICROELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
MICROPROCESSORS
POLLUTANTS
SIMULATION
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
TRANSPORT
TURBULENCE
WIND