Editorial
To address the need for additional high-resolution urban dispersion data sets, the U.S. Departments of Defense, Energy and Homeland Security joined together to fund the Joint Urban 2003 (JU03) atmospheric dispersion study. This major urban study was conducted from June 28 through July 31, 2003, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with the participation of over 150 scientists and engineers from over 20 U.S. and foreign institutions. Through mid-2006 over 125 papers and presentations have been given on scientific findings and model evaluations based on the field study results. The official JU03 data archive is accessible through the internet by requesting an account at https://ju2003-dpg.dpg.army.mil/. The JU03 study included several integrated scientific components necessary to describe and understand the physical processes governing dispersion within and surrounding an urban area and into and within building environments. These components included characterizing: 1) the urban boundary layer; 2) flows within a street canyon, including the effects of traffic on turbulence; 3) flows within and downwind of the tall-building core; 4) the surface energy balance within an urban area; 5) dispersion of tracer into, out of, and within buildings; and 6) dispersion of tracer throughout the downtown core and out to four kilometers downwind from the release. The scientific elements of the study were accomplished using state-of-the-art meteorological and tracer instruments, including lidars, sodars, radars, sonic anemometers, airplane-based meteorological sensors, fast-response tracer analyzers, and helicopter-based remote tracer detectors. Winds and other meteorological quantities were measured continuously at nearly 100 locations in and around downtown OKC. Tracer was released on 10 days during the experiment period and included both puff and continuous releases. The tracer was sampled using over 200 integrated samplers and 25 fast response analyzers. Vertical measurements of tracer were made by placing samplers on the tops of nearly 20 buildings and by sampling tracer at seven levels on a 90-m crane. The twelve papers in this special issue provide a cross-section of the scientific investigations pursued using JU03 data. Half the papers focus on using observations to characterize winds, turbulence and dispersion in the boundary layer above the city and into a downtown Oklahoma City street canyon (Park Avenue). The remaining papers discuss model evaluations using JU03 data and our improved understanding of processes governing dispersion in urban areas using models and observations. The combination of a dense network of measurements with state-of-the-art instruments allowed for an unparalleled investigation of transport and diffusion in an urban environment. We expect the Joint Urban 2003 data set will be used for many years for model development and validation efforts, and for refining our understanding of flow and dispersion in urban areas including the exchange of contaminants between outdoor and indoor and environments.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 944012
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-52208; 400904030; TRN: US200902%%406
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 46(12):2017-2018, Vol. 46, Issue 12
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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