The Dispersion of Atmospheric Tracers in Nocturnal Drainage Flows

Gudiksen, P.H.; Shearer, D.L.

doi:10.1175/1520-0450(1989)028<0602:tdoati>2.0.co;2

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…First, upslope winds evolve asymmetrically in the morning according to the times of local sunrise on the respective sidewalls. The effects of this asymmetry on dynamics and air pollution have been noted in both observational (e.g., Gudiksen and Shearer 1989;Orgill 1989;Gohm et al 2009) and modeling studies (e.g., Segal et al 1987;Anquetin et al 1998;Colette et al 2003;Lehner and Gohm 2010). Second, a horizontal temperature and, thus, pressure gradient develops across the valley, producing a cross-valley wind that is directed toward the sunlitwarmer sidewall.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Diurnal Cycle of Thermally Driven Cross-Basin Winds in Arizona’s Meteor Crater

Lehner

Whiteman

Hoch

2011

Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology

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Cross-basin winds produced by asymmetric insolation of the crater sidewalls occur in Arizona's Meteor Crater on days with weak background winds. The diurnal cycle of the cross-basin winds is analyzed together with radiation, temperature, and pressure measurements at the crater sidewalls for a 1-month period. The asymmetric irradiation causes horizontal temperature and pressure gradients across the crater basin that drive the cross-basin winds near the crater floor. The horizontal temperature and pressure gradients and wind directions change as the sun moves across the sky, with easterly winds in the morning and westerly winds in the evening. A case study of 12 October 2006 further illustrates the obtained relation between these parameters for an individual day. The occurrence of an elevated cross-basin flow on 23 October 2006 is shown to relate to the presence of an elevated inversion layer.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Diurnal Cycle of Thermally Driven Cross-Basin Winds in Arizona’s Meteor Crater

Lehner

Whiteman

Hoch

2011

Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology

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“…These measurements have shown characteristics of smoke at discrete elevations or as spatially integrated values. Some information on the distribution of tracer gases in confined valleys is available from experiments such as the 1984 Atmospheric Studies on Complex Terrain (ASCOT) [ Clements et al , 1989; Dobosy et al , 1989; Gudiksen and Shearer , 1989; Orgill , 1989; Whiteman , 1989]. Very little information, however, is available on the vertical distribution of smoke constituents during an active biomass fire.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vertical distribution of nighttime smoke following a wildland biomass fire in boreal Alaska

et al. 2003

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[1] A comprehensive evaluation of the vertical structure of a smoldering smoke plume was afforded by a unique combination of tethersonde measurements (from ground level to about 400 m above ground level (AGL) or 274-674 m above sea level (ASL)), lidar sounding (from about 1.5 to 5 km ASL), and a video recording during the FROSTFIRE experimental burn in July 1999. Tethersonde and lidar measurements were made at local midnight. The video camera operated continuously for 1 week. Estimates of mass concentration were derived from the light-scattering measurements. Every night, upper level smoke concentrations were estimated to be about 1000 times lower than near-surface concentrations. The tethersonde instrument indicated maximum mass concentrations on the night following the most active burning (10-11 July), with the smoke trapped below an inversion at 115 m AGL. The lidar measurements indicated that maximum mass concentrations aloft ($2000 m AGL) occurred on the next night (11-12 July), when the inversion was weaker, and estimated mass concentrations in the first few hundred meters ASL were smaller. The opportunistic combination of instruments offers the first available quantitative information on vertical plume structure in smoldering biomass smoke and holds promise for more a rigorous understanding of smoldering smoke as it significantly impacts visibility and human health.

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“…An analysis correlating the vertical tracer concentrations with valley meteorology has been published. 9 …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This tethered air pump system (TAPS), containing an adsorbent tube, was employed for the collection of vertical atmospheric samples during a series of tracer experiments in western Colorado. 9 Samples were simultaneously collected at 50-m altitude intervals up to 500 m. The sampler design, sampler performance, and results illustrating the technique are described.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Tethered Balloon Air Sampling System for Determining the Vertical Distribution of Atmospheric Tracers

Lagomarsino

Latner

1997

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

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A lightweight, constant-flow air sampling pump has been adapted for attaching to a balloon tether line for the vertical sampling of atmospheric perfluorocarbon tracers. Constant flow was maintained up to an altitude of 6,250 m. The pump design, construction, and sampling technique are described. Typical vertical concentration results obtained during a perfluorocarbon tracer release experiment are presented. INTRODUCTIONA number of computer models have been developed to predict the atmospheric transport, with horizontal and vertical diffusion, of pollutants in time or distance from the source. To provide empirical data to assess the limitations and reliability of these models, a tracer technology was developed which utilizes fluorinated compounds as tracers to facilitate observations of atmospheric transport and dispersion of the pollutants. This technology, first proposed by Lovelock, 1 involves the controlled and measured release of inert, nontoxic, nondepositing perfluorocycloalkane (perfluorocarbon) compounds into the atmosphere as meteorological tracers. During the releases, air samples are collected by samplers arranged in a network along the anticipated ground-level tracer plume trajectory. Each sample is subsequently analyzed for the tracers by gas chromatography electron-capture detection.

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The Dispersion of Atmospheric Tracers in Nocturnal Drainage Flows

Cited by 17 publications

References 0 publications

Diurnal Cycle of Thermally Driven Cross-Basin Winds in Arizona’s Meteor Crater

Diurnal Cycle of Thermally Driven Cross-Basin Winds in Arizona’s Meteor Crater

Vertical distribution of nighttime smoke following a wildland biomass fire in boreal Alaska

A Tethered Balloon Air Sampling System for Determining the Vertical Distribution of Atmospheric Tracers

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