Abstract |
Modeling atmospheric pollutant dispersion from ground-level area sources generally requires site-specific, or at least site-representative meteorological data. Models that predict annual-average concentrations as a function of radial distance and azimuthal direction accept data in standard formats such as STability ARray (STAR), or hourly (CD-144) format. The Industrial Source Complex-Long Term (ISCLT) model and the Point, Area, Line Source (PAL) model are two examples. However, an air quality screening analysis may only require estimates of the annual-average radial maximum concentrations. Modeled annual-average radial maximum concentrations (azimuth-independent) are less sensitive to the variations inherent in site-specific meteorological data. Such a one-dimensional treatment does not fully utilize, and therefore may not require, the two-dimensional information that is available in conventional meteorological data formats such as STAR or CD-144. Is there a single combination of atmospheric stability, wind speed, and frequency of occurrence (i.e., an azimuth-independent constant-condition pseudo-meteorological data input) which can provide a useful screening estimate of the annual-average radial maximum concentration profiles for ground-level area sources. A comparison of modeled annual-average radial maximum concentration profiles, from a small area source, was made between several constant conditions and meteorological data from several sites. |