Applications of Air Mass Trajectories

Abstract

Air trajectory calculations are commonly found in a variety of atmospheric analyses. However, most of reported research usually focuses upon the transport of pollutants via trajectory routes and not on the trajectory itself. This paper explores the major areas of research in which air trajectory analyses are applied with an effort to gain deeper insights into the key points which highlight the necessity of such analyses. Ranging from meteorological applications to their links with living beings, air trajectory calculations become important tool especially when alternative procedures do not seem possible. This review covers the reports published during last few years illustrating the geographical distribution of trajectory applications and highlighting the regions where trajectory application research proves most active and useful. As a result, relatively unexplored areas such as microorganism transport are also included, suggesting the possible ways in which successful use of air trajectory research should be extended.

Hydroclimatic significance of stable isotopes in precipitation from glaciers of Garhwal Himalaya, Upper Ganga Basin (UGB), India

“…Multivariate regression analyses were also performed on the data for developing meaningful relationships between stable isotopes of water and the prevailing meteorological conditions. Backward wind trajectories act as a valuable tool for inferring the source of moisture to a region (Eames, ; Helsen et al, ; Pérez et al, ; Soderberg et al, ) and have also been plotted to understand the origin of the air masses causing precipitation in the region for each month.…”

Air Mass Trajectories to Estimate the “Most Likely” Areas to Be Affected by the Release of Hazardous Materials in the Atmosphere—Feasibility Study

“…Many studies [3,4] have outlined the need of characterizing wind regimes to understand air pollution scenarios. This direct link makes the knowledge and characterization of wind regimes at a site become key information in estimating the atmospheric transport and dispersion of harmful substances and, therefore, in forecasting the likely areas affected by the plume passage.Air trajectory analysis is a central scientific tool to characterize synoptic and regional wind regimes [5]. The basic methodological approach in this kind of analysis is to generate massive amounts of air mass trajectories with the purpose of considering a large number of transport and dispersion scenarios so that the statistical analysis leads to the extraction of representative information about flow patterns (e.g., residence time, range, distance, speed, etc.).…”

“…Air trajectory analysis is a central scientific tool to characterize synoptic and regional wind regimes [5]. The basic methodological approach in this kind of analysis is to generate massive amounts of air mass trajectories with the purpose of considering a large number of transport and dispersion scenarios so that the statistical analysis leads to the extraction of representative information about flow patterns (e.g., residence time, range, distance, speed, etc.).…”

Can Volcanic Dust Suspended From Surface Soil and Deserts of Iceland Be Transferred to Central Balkan Similarly to African Dust (Sahara)?

“…Different approaches have been used to identify and characterize source areas of air masses. Backward trajectories are the most commonly calculated type, the HYSPLIT being the most widely used model and particulate matter being the kind of pollutant most frequently investigated (Pérez et al, 2015). The accuracy of trajectory models depends on the source of wind field data, resolution of available meteorological fields, trajectory type, etc (Fleming et al, 2012).…”

“…The main reason why the HYSPLIT model is widely used is that is freely available and prove extremely easy to apply (Pérez et al, 2015). The HYSPLIT model is accessed via web-based Real-time Environmental Applications and Display sYstem (READY) developed by NOAA's Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) (Draxler et al, 2013).…”