An Overview of MADONA: A Multinational Field Study of High-Resolution Meteorology and Diffusion Over Complex Terrain

Abstract

The multination, high-resolution field study of Meteorology And Diffusion Over Non-Uniform Areas (MADONA) was conducted by scientists from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands at Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, during September and October 1992. The host of the field study was the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE, now part of Defence Evaluation and Research Agency) at Porton Down. MADONA was designed and conducted for high-resolution meteorological data collection and diffusion experiments using smoke, sulphurhexaflouride (SF6), and propylene gas during unstable, neutral, and stable atmospheric conditions in an effort to obtain terrain-influenced meteorological fields, dispersion, and concentration fluctuation measurements using specialized sensors and tracer generators. Thirty-one days of meteorological data were collected during the period 7 September-7 October and 27 diffusion experiments were conducted from 14 to 23 September 1992. Puffs and plumes of smoke and SF6 were released simultaneously for most of the experiments to gauge the resultant diffusion and concentration behavior. Some 44 meteorological and aerosol sensors and four source generators were used during each day of the field study. This array of sensors included 14 towers of wind cups and vanes, 10 sonic anemometer/thermometers, one boundary layer sonde, two lidar, one ion sensor, the CBDE Weather Station, and several one-of-a-kind sensors. Simulations of airflow and diffusion over the MADONA topography (a 9 km by 7.5 km area) were made with a variety of models. Wind fields and wind-related parameters were simulated with several high-resolution (microalpha scale) wind flow models. A tally of the various data-gathering activities indicates that the execution of MADONA was highly successful. Preliminary use of the datasets shows the high quality and depth of the MADONA database. This well-documented database is suitable for the evaluation and validation of short-range/near-field wind and diffusion models/codes. The database was originally placed on CD-ROM in a structured way by CBDE, Porton Down. The database is now available from the Risø National Laboratory, Denmark.