Application of an advanced atmospheric mesoscale model to dispersion in the Rocky Flats, Colorado vicinity

Abstract

Atmospheric Studies in Complex Terrain (ASCOT) program sponsored a field experiment in the winter of 1991 near Rocky Flats, Colorado. Both meteorological and tracer dispersion measurements were taken. These two data sets provided an opportunity to investigate the influence of terrain-generated, radiatively-driven flows on the dispersion of the tracer. We use the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS), originally developed at Colorado State University, to simulate meteorological conditions and tracer dispersion on the case night of 4-5 February 1991. The simulations described herein reveal considerable information about the extent to which the Rocky Mountains influence the flow along the Front Range , the importance of diffusion when simulating drainage flows and the computing needs of simulations in complex terrain regions

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