A Proposal to Compile Past Atmospheric Dispersion Field Experiment Data for Easy Access and Model Evaluation

Abstract

The long-range transport of pollutants in the atmosphere has received considerable attention in recent years, corresponding with a comparable number of models to address these issues. In particular there has been consistent emphasis on nuclear reactor accidents since Chernobyl by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) through the organization of WMO’s Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers (RSMCs). The European Tracer Experiment (ETEX) symposium evaluated 47 different models. The introduction of more fuel efficient jet aircraft engines (running at higher temperatures) has made modern commercial aircraft very sensitive to volcanic ash from eruptions. Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAAC), designated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), use transport and dispersion models to forecast the location of volcanic ash, so that aircraft may be warned and rerouted around the affected areas. Most, if not all, atmospheric transport models (ATM) are linked to one or more operational meteorological forecastmodels, or a particular meteorological archive which is then used by the ATM. The data predicted by the meteorological models are routinely evaluated and compared against common performance standards. Although similar verification standards exist for the ATMs, there is a sense in the dispersion modeling community that there is very little data available to perform these evaluations. Perhaps this is because these data are not as easily obtained and are usually limited to single events or controlled (and expensive) field experiments that are not available on a routine basis. However there are many isolated experiments, some