The Structure of Atmospheric Diffusion at Regional Scales

Abstract

The NOAA/ACURATE data, nineteen-month long series of 12-hour averaged Kr-85 air-concentration measurements at five sites up to 1050 km downwind of a source near AIKEN SC, are analyzed by a technique of fractal geometry, the renormalized-range statistic R/S. Fractional Brownian motion (Hurst) exponents H equal to about 0.35 are found for atmospheric eddy sizes of several hundred km, the enstrophy-cascade range, and these increased to H-values of about 0.45 for larger scale motions. Corresponding fractal dimensions, D, equal about 1.65 and 1.55. Related power spectra and auto-correlations are discussed. The fractal indices can be applied in numerical diffusion models using available computer algorithms. Examples of R/S-analysis of short-range, rapid-response atmospheric diffusion observations are compared with the ACURATE results.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 31, 1991
Accession Number
ADA233153

Entities

People

  • Franklin A. Gifford

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Atmospheric Motion
  • Boundary Layer
  • Brownian Motion
  • Computer Simulations
  • Computers
  • Diffusion
  • Energy Transfer
  • Geometry
  • Measurement
  • Military Research
  • Observation
  • Power Spectra
  • Statistics
  • Three Dimensional
  • Turbulence
  • Turbulent Diffusion

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Urban Planning and Geography.
  • Wave Propagation and Nonlinear Chaotic Dynamics.