Validation Of A Surface Layer Windflow Model Using Climatology And Meteorological Tower Data From Vandenberg Afb California

This report describes the 2nd phase of a study involving a surface-layer windflow model. The model produces a two-dimensional (x-y plane) variational analysis of windflow by employing Gauss' principle of least constraints to adjust an initial windfield to effects of topography, stability, momentum advection, and mass conservation. It used detailed terrain data (100 to 200 m horizontal resolution) to compensate for sparse meteorological data available over the small areas for which the model is run (25 to 250 sq km). The first phase involved testing of the model to effects of stability and vegetation using terrain, vegetation, and climate for Ft. Polk, LA. The 2nd phase involves further model development, including changes in meteorological data input as well as changes in wind and stability initializations. Model experiments using artificially-produced terrain were conducted to test these changes. A two-part model validation was then performed using climate data and archived meteorological tower data from Vandenberg AFB, California. The area of interest is 11 x 12 km, and covers the South Vandenberg Launch Complex.

This report documents the culmination of a three-year development and testing effort on a two-dimensional (x-y plane) surface-layer windflow model for complex terrain. The model was acquired from the U.S. Army Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory (ASL) at White Sands, New Mexico in 1984. The version of the model described in this report has been adapted to run using real time data on both the Zenith-100 and IBM-compatible Zenith-248 computers. The model accepts input of a single surface observation (or forecast) of wind, temperature, and cloud cover, and uses this information along with terrain information and the date/time to diagnose the surface-layer stability. The model then performs a variational analysis of the windfield, adjusting the winds through a relaxation technique until the windfield conforms to effects of topography, stability, ambient flow conditions, and mass continuity. The model is designed to produce high-resolution wind analyses, typically running on domains on the order of 10 X 10 km, with horizontal grid spacing of 100 to 200 m. We present an overview of potential military and nonmilitary uses for the model, and describe the relevant physics and computer architecture of the model and its two utility plotting routines. A user's guide, included here as Section 4, is primarily aimed at providing operational users such as forecasters some guidelines for using the model and interpreting the output. Finally, we present the results of an operational test of the model in support of Army Special Forces operations at Ft. Devens, Massachusetts. The test results illustrate the model's potential as a tactical weather support tool for low-level aviation and paradrop activities.

Air pollution remains a major environmental issue despite many years of study and much legislative control. In rec~nt times, pollution on a global scale has become of particular concern. The gradually changing con centration of trace gases in the global troposphere due to man's activity is becomming a matter of serious concern. No scientist would dare to pre dict in detail the consequences of this gradual change due to its immense complexity involving social and economic factors and near countless chemical and phjsical cycles in our biosphere. In this chain of processes, the transport of pollution is an important factor, but only a factor. Therefore, I would like to emphasize that the mOdelling of atmospheric transport is becoming more and more an activity which fits into larger frameworks and can no longer be exercised as a single step, which bridges the gap between emissions and policy measures. This is also reflected in the topics and papers which were presented at this conference. The topics were: - emission invetories for and source treatment in air pollution dispersion models; - modelling of accidental releases; - regional and global scale dispersion mOdelling; including boundary layer-free troposphere exchange processes and subgrid scale parameter isations; - model verification and policy implications; - new developments in dispersion modelling and theory. 56 papers were presented in these sections. While many posters were dis cussed in a special session.