Effects of mesoscale surface inhomogeneities on atmospheric boundary layer transfer

Defining the nature of turbulent transfer over horizontally inhomogeneous surfaces remains one of the challenges in meteorology. Because the transfer of energy and momentum through the atmospheric boundary layer forms part of the lower boundary condition for global climate models (GCMs), the problem is important. Over the last two decades, advances in sensor and computer technology wave made good point measurements of turbulent fluxes fairly routine. A fundamental question with respect to climate models, however, is how such point measurements are related to average fluxes over the area of a GCM grid box. In this paper we will use data from the field program to depict the evolution of the boundary layer over adjacent, sharply contrasting surface types on two separate occasions. We will then use simple scaling based on the observations to argue that sub-gridscale motions would often be likely to significantly alter the estimates and resulting parameterizations of GCM-scale surface fluxes in the region

MESORAD dose assessment of the Chernobyl reactor accident

An accident involving Unit 4 of the Chernobylskaya Atomic Energy Station resulted in the release of a large amount of radioactive material to the atmosphere. This report describes the results of an assessment of the doses near the site (within 80 km) made at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory using the MESORAD Dose Assessment model. 6 refs., 10 figs., 5 tabs

Heterogeneous surface fluxes and their effects on the SGP CART site

The treatment of subgrid-scale variations of surface properties and the resultant spatial variations of sensible and latent heat fluxes has received increasing attention in recent years. Mesoscale numerical simulations of highly idealized conditions, in which strong flux contrasts exist between adjacent surfaces, have shown that under some circumstances the secondary circulations induced by land-use differences can significantly affect the properties of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and the region of the atmosphere above the PBL. At the Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site, the fluxes from different land-surface types are not expected to differ as dramatically as those found in idealized simulations. Although the corresponding effects on the atmosphere should thus be less dramatic, they are still potentially important. From an ARM perspective, in tests of single column models (SCMs) it would be useful to understand the effects of the lower boundary conditions on model performance. We describe here our initial efforts to characterize the variable surface fluxes over the CART site and to assess their effects on the PBL that are important for the performance of SCMs