Assessment of the unified analytical solution of the steady-state atmospheric diffusion equation for stable conditions

Abstract

In this work, the performance of a unified formal analytical solution for the simulation of atmospheric diffusion problems under stable conditions is evaluated. The eigenquantities required by the formal analytical solution are obtained by solving numerically the associated eigenvalue problem based on a newly developed algorithm capable of being used in high orders and without missing eigenvalues. The performance of the formal analytical solution is evaluated by comparing the converged predicted results against the observed values in the stable runs of the Prairie Grass experiment as well as the simulated results available in the literature. It was found that the developed algorithm was efficient and that the convergence rate depends on the stability condition and the considered parametrizations for wind speed and turbulence. The comparisons among predicted and observed concentrations showed a good agreement and indicate that the considered dispersion formulations are appropriate to simulate dispersion under slightly to moderate atmospheric stable conditions.