An Analysis of Wintertime Winds in Washington, D.C.

This report consists of a description of the wintertime climatology of wind speed and wind direction around the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Meteorological data for this study were collected at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Reagan National), Dulles International Airport (Dulles), and a set of surface meteorological stations that are located on a number of building tops around the National Mall. A five-year wintertime climatology of wind speed and wind direction measured at Reagan National and Dulles are presented. A more detailed analysis was completed for the period December 2003 through February 2004 using data gathered from stations located around the National Mall, Reagan National, and Dulles. Key findings of our study include the following: * There are systematic differences between the wind speed and wind direction observed at Reagan National and the wind speed and wind direction measured by building top weather stations located in the National Mall. Although Dulles is located much further from the National Mall than Reagan National, there is better agreement between the wind speed and wind direction measured at Dulles and the weather stations in the National Mall. * When the winds are light (less than 3 ms-1 or 7 mph), there are significant differences in the wind directions reported at the various weather stations within the Mall. * Although the mean characteristics of the wind are similar at the various locations, significant, short-term differences are found when the time series are compared. These differences have important implications for the dispersion of airborne contaminants. In support of wintertime special events in the area of the National Mall, we recommend placing four additional meteorological instruments: three additional surface stations, one on the east bank of the Potomac River, one south of the Reflecting Pool (to better define the flow within the Mall), and a surface station near the Herbert C. Hoover Building; and wind-profiling instrument located along the southern edge of the National Mall to give measurements of the wind speed and direction as a function of height

Urban Dispersion Program Overview and MID05 Field Study Summary

The Urban Dispersion Program (UDP) was a 4-year project (2004–2007) funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with additional support from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also contributed to UDP through funding a human-exposure component of the New York City (NYC) field studies in addition to supporting an EPA scientist in conducting modeling studies of NYC. The primary goal of UDP was to improve the scientific understanding of the flow and diffusion of airborne contaminants through and around the deep street canyons of NYC. The overall UDP project manager and lead scientist was Dr. Jerry Allwine of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. UDP had several accomplishments that included conducting two tracer and meteorological field studies in Midtown Manhattan

Deployment Notes for Sodars at the Stevens Institute of Technology during the March 2005 Urban Dispersion Program Field Campaign (MSG05)

This report documents the deployment of two sodars at the Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT) in Hoboken, New Jersey, during the March 2005 Madison Square Garden Urban Dispersion Field Campaign (MSG05) conducted in the vicinity of Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan. One sodar was a Scintec MFAS sodar that was operated on a dock along the Hudson River. This sodar was only operated during Intensive Observation Periods (IOPs). The other sodar was an AeroVironment (AV) Model 3000 MiniSodar that was located on top of the Howe Center at SIT. This sodar was operated continually, but there were data quality issues in the lowest three and upper seven range gates during non-IOP periods. The IOP data from the AeroVironment was reprocessed so that only data from the lowest three and highest seven range gates was removed. Measurements from both sodars were compared to measurements made using a propeller and vane anemometer that was also located on top of the Howe Center. This report also describes the quality control methods applied to data from each sodar and the structure of the data files available. The agreement between the sodars is generally good, and we recommend using either the AV data or the Scintec data during the two IOPs, bearing in mind that there are some differences in the measured wind direction above 150 m MSL

Asian Tracer Experiment and Atmospheric Modeling (TEAM) Project: Draft Field Work Plan for the Asian Long-Range Tracer Experiment

This report provides an experimental plan for a proposed Asian long-range tracer study as part of the international Tracer Experiment and Atmospheric Modeling (TEAM) Project. The TEAM partners are China, Japan, South Korea and the United States. Optimal times of year to conduct the study, meteorological measurements needed, proposed tracer release locations, proposed tracer sampling locations and the proposed durations of tracer releases and subsequent sampling are given. Also given are the activities necessary to prepare for the study and the schedule for completing the preparation activities leading to conducting the actual field operations. This report is intended to provide the TEAM members with the information necessary for planning and conducting the Asian long-range tracer study. The experimental plan is proposed, at this time, to describe the efforts necessary to conduct the Asian long-range tracer study, and the plan will undoubtedly be revised and refined as the planning goes forward over the next year

Using DUSTRAN to Simulate Fog-Oil Dispersion and Its Impacts on Local Insect Populations at Ft. Hood: Final Report

Smokes and obscurants (S&O) are important screening agents used during military training exercises on many military installations. Although the use of S&O is subject to environmental laws, the fate and effects of S&O on natural habitats are not well documented. One particular concern is the impact S&O may have on local insect populations, which can be important components of terrestrial food chains of endangered species. Fog-oil (FO) is an S&O that is of particular concern. An important part of assessing potential ecosystem impacts is the ability to predict downwind FO concentrations. This report documents the use of the comprehensive atmospheric dispersion modeling system DUST TRANsport (DUSTRAN) to simulate the downwind transport and diffusion of a hypothetical FO release on the U.S. Army installation at Ft. Hood, TX

Dust Plume Modeling at Fort Bliss: Full Training Scenario

The potential for air quality impacts from heavy mechanized vehicles operating in the training ranges and on the unpaved main supply routes at Fort Bliss is being investigated. The investigation uses the atmospheric modeling system DUSTRAN to simulate fugitive dust emission and dispersion from typical activities occurring on the installation. This report conveys the results of DUSTRAN simulations conducted using a “Full Training” scenario developed by Fort Bliss personnel. he Full Training scenario includes simultaneous off-road activities of two full Heavy Brigade Combat Teams (HCBTs) and one HCBT battalion on three training ranges. Simulations were conducted for the six-day period, April 25-30, 2005, using previously archived meteorological records. Simulation results are presented in the form of 24-hour average PM10 plots and peak 1-hour PM10 concentration plots, where the concentrations represent contributions resulting from the specified military vehicular activities, not total ambient PM10 concentrations. Results indicate that the highest PM10 contribution concentrations occurred on April 30 when winds were light and variable. Under such conditions, lofted particulates generated by vehicular movement stay in the area of generation and are not readily dispersed. The effect of training duration was investigated by comparing simulations with vehicular activity extending over a ten hour period (0700 to 1700 MST) with simulations where vehicular activity was compressed into a one hour period (0700 to 0800 MST). Compressing all vehicular activity into one hour led to higher peak one-hour and 24-hour average concentration contributions, often substantially higher

Dust Plume Modeling at Fort Bliss: Move-Out Operations, Combat Training and Wind Erosion

The potential for air-quality impacts from heavy mechanized vehicles operating in the training ranges and on the unpaved main supply routes at Fort Bliss was investigated. This report details efforts by the staff of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the Fort Bliss Directorate of Environment in this investigation. Dust emission and dispersion from typical activities, including move outs and combat training, occurring on the installation were simulated using the atmospheric modeling system DUSTRAN. Major assumptions associated with designing specific modeling scenarios are summarized, and results from the simulations are presented

Development of NEXRAD Wind Retrievals as Input to Atmospheric Dispersion Models

The objective of this study is to determine the feasibility that routinely collected data from the Doppler radars can appropriately be used in Atmospheric Dispersion Models (ADMs) for emergency response. We have evaluated the computational efficiency and accuracy of two variational mathematical techniques that derive the u- and v-components of the wind from radial velocities obtained from Doppler radars. A review of the scientific literature indicated that the techniques employ significantly different approaches in applying the variational techniques: 2-D Variational (2DVar), developed by NOAA¹s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's) National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) and Variational Doppler Radar Analysis System (VDRAS), developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). We designed a series of numerical experiments in which both models employed the same horizontal domain and resolution encompassing Oklahoma City for a two-week period during the summer of 2003 so that the computed wind retrievals could be fairly compared. Both models ran faster than real-time on a typical single dual-processor computer, indicating that they could be used to generate wind retrievals in near real-time. 2DVar executed ~2.5 times faster than VDRAS because of its simpler approach

SPRAYTRAN 1.0 User’s Guide: A GIS-Based Atmospheric Spray Droplet Dispersion Modeling System

SPRAY TRANsport (SPRAYTRAN) is a comprehensive dispersion modeling system that is used to simulate the offsite drift of pesticides from spray applications. SPRAYTRAN functions as a console application within Environmental System Research Institute’s ArcMap Geographic Information System (Version 9.x) and integrates the widely-used, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved CALifornia PUFF (CALPUFF) dispersion model and model components to simulate longer-range transport and diffusion in variable terrain and spatially/temporally varying meteorological (e.g., wind) fields. Area sources, which are used to define spray blocks in SPRAYTRAN, are initialized using output files generated from a separate aerial-spray-application model called AGDISP (AGricultural DISPersal). The AGDISP model is used for estimating the amount of pesticide deposited to the spray block based on spraying characteristics (e.g., pesticide type, spray nozzles, and aircraft type) and then simulating the near-field (less than 300-m) drift from a single pesticide application. The fraction of pesticide remaining airborne from the AGDISP near-field simulation is then used by SPRAYTRAN for simulating longer-range (greater than 300 m) drift and deposition of the pesticide

Urban Dispersion Program: Urban Measurements Applied to Emergency Response

Air motions in and around cities are highly complex, and the increasing threat of harmful releases into urban atmospheres makes advancing the state-of-science of understanding and modeling atmospheric flows and dispersion in and around cities essential. The four-year Urban Dispersion Program (UDP) funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency has recently been completed. The program’s primary focus was to conduct tracer and meteorological field studies in Manhattan to improve our understanding of flow and dispersion of airborne contaminants through and around the deep street canyons of New York City, including outdoor-indoor-subway exchange mechanisms. Additionally, urban dispersion models are being validated and first-responder guidance are being refined using data collected during the two UDP field studies. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory led several government laboratories, universities and private companies in conducting the two UDP field studies. The first study was a small-scale study that investigated dispersion in the immediate vicinity of the Madison Square Garden during March 2005 (MSG05), while the second UDP study was an extensive study conducted during August 2005 in Midtown Manhattan (MID05). A brief overview of the UDP field studies will be given followed by a discussion of some limitations of current urban models in simulating dispersion in urban areas. Some first-responder guidance based on findings from recent urban field studies will also be presented