The 1996 USAF Model Validation Study (MVP) provides an extensive atmospheric tracer database containing over two hundred gaseous tracer releases covering three seasons for the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). Tracer experiments included both ground-level as well as elevated releases of SF6. Both puff and continuous releases were conducted. This report describes a demonstration of the feasibility of using the 1996 MVP study to develop a model simulation database to support the evaluation of the performance of (1) numerical weather prediction models as well as (2) transport and diffusion models, both used to assess potential accident scenarios which might pose a threat from an atmospheric release of hazardous materials near the CCAFS. For this demonstration, the community state-of-the-science Weather Research Forecast (WRF) numerical model was used to develop the meteorological fields used to drive NOAA/ARL’s Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) transport and diffusion model.

https://doi.org/10.25923/x74e-3k77

Technical Memorandum

United States

NOAA Cooperative Institutes
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)