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Wind Climate in Cities pp 457–484Cite as

Concentration Fluctuations in Plumes: Observations and Models

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Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((NSSE,volume 277))

Abstract

Dispersion in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is a random process caused by the stochastic nature of turbulence. As a result, the fluctuating concentration observed downwind of a source is typically of the same order as the ensemble-mean concentration 〈c〉; the fluctuation is characterized by its root-mean-square value σ c ,. This paper discusses the nature of the fluctuations—σ c and the probability distribution of concentration—as observed in laboratory and field experiments and predicted by models. The focus is on point-source plumes in the ABL. Models for σ c , range from simple methods useful in applications to more research oriented approaches. The first group includes Gifford’s (1959) meandering plume model and ensemble-closure approaches. The research models include large-eddy simulations and Lagrangian stochastic models, which offer promise for obtaining fundamental information about the behavior of the fluctuations; these models have been corroborated in part by wind-tunnel measurements.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

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Author notes

  1. J. C. Weil

    Present address: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, Colorado, 80303, USA

    J. C. Weil

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  1. J. C. Weil
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

    Jack E. Cermak

  2. Faculty of Engineering Science, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

    Alan G. Davenport

  3. Fakultät für Bauingenieur- und Vermessungswesen, Universität Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Erich J. Plate

  4. Fluid Mechanics Center, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Domingos X. Viegas

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© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Weil, J.C. (1995). Concentration Fluctuations in Plumes: Observations and Models. In: Cermak, J.E., Davenport, A.G., Plate, E.J., Viegas, D.X. (eds) Wind Climate in Cities. NATO ASI Series, vol 277. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3686-2_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3686-2_21

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4485-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-3686-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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