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ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSION IN THE ARCTIC: WINTERTIME BOUNDARY-LAYER MEASUREMENTS
Citation:
Guenther, A. AND B. Lamb. ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSION IN THE ARCTIC: WINTERTIME BOUNDARY-LAYER MEASUREMENTS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-89/322.
Description:
The wintertime arctic atmospheric boundary layer was investigated with micro-meteorological and SF6 tracer measurements collected in Prudhoe Bay, AK. he flat, snow-covered tundra surface at this site generates a very small (0.03 cm) surface roughness. he relatively warm maritime air mass originating over the nearby, partially frozen Beaufort Sea is cooled at the tundra surface resulting in strong (4 to 30o C (100m)-1) temperature inversions with calm winds and a persistent weak (1 to 2o C (100m)-1) surface inversion with wind speeds up to l7 ms-1. he absence of any diurnal atmospheric stability pattern during the study was due to the very limited solar insolation. ertical profiles were measured with a multi-level mast from 1 to 17 m and with a Doppler acoustic sounder from 60 to 450 m. urbulence statistics and spectra calculated from UVW propeller anemometers are similar to measurements reported for non-arctic, open terrain sites. he distribution of wind direction recorded at 1 Hz was frequently non-Gaussian for one-hour periods but was always Gaussian for 5-minute periods. The non-Gaussian hourly averaged crosswind concentration profiles observed in the field can be modeled by calculating sequential short-term (e.g. 5 minute) concentrations and constructing hourly concentrations by averaging the short-term results.