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Verification of the pollutant transport model ‘MODIS’ using EPRI plains site data from a tall stack

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Abstract

A comprehensive numerical model for the simulation of pollutant dispersion from a point source into the mixing layer of the atmosphere over flat terrain is described. A moment reduction technique is used (MODIS = MOment Distribution) to combine the simplicity of the Gaussian plume description with the versatility of Eulerian grid formulations. Turbulent dispersion coefficients are parameterized in terms of mean square wind variances which in turn are obtained by a simplified second order closure model. The data base of the ‘EPRI Plume Model Validation and Development Project’ is used to validate the model for wind velocities above 0.5 m/s and for horizontal scales up to about one hundred kilometers. The model describes the three-dimensional structure of a plume also for stable conditions including a nighttime low level jet. For a convective planetary boundary layer it underestimates maximum ground concentration as do other models. However, it is capable of approaching measured maximum ground concentration under stable conditions.

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Petersen, G., Eppel, D. & Grassl, H. Verification of the pollutant transport model ‘MODIS’ using EPRI plains site data from a tall stack. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 41, 265–277 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00120443

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