Urban Dispersion Modelling Capabilities Related to the UDINEE Intensive Operating Period 4

Abstract

The Quick Urban and Industrial Complex (QUIC) atmospheric transport and dispersion modelling system, developed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, is evaluated using measurement data from the Joint Urban 2003 gas-tracer measurements conducted in Oklahoma City, USA. This activity has been coordinated within the Urban Dispersion International Evaluation Exercise (UDINEE) project, led by the European Commission–Joint Research Centre. Four different set-ups for the QUIC program are evaluated using different types of wind-speed data, such as local onsite measurements and flow fields produced by the Weather Research and Forecasting mesoscale model. The simulation results are evaluated against measured data for instantaneous puff releases from intensive operation period 4 of the Joint Urban 2003 field experiment. The selection of performance measures is based on the assumptions made for the UDINEE project. The differences in the results of simulations for various set-ups are described.