Plume rise measurements from large point sources in Israel

Abstract

An instrumented aircraft was used to locate the centerline of plumes emitted from two large power plants situated along the Israeli Mediterranean coast line. The results of the measurements that were carried out at several downwind distances and at various altitudes were compared with model calculations. The models included the classical Briggs formulae, the Turner method and Petersen-Dowd modifications. The latter two take into account the effect of plume penetration and reflection of inversion layers and surface roughness. The comparison showed moderate correlation between the model and the observations for the lower stacks (80 m), and even weaker correlation for the taller stacks (250 m). In general, all three models underestimate plume rise for stable atmospheric conditions. For unstable and neutral conditions, the Briggs model overestimates the plume rise, while the other two modified models underestimate plume rise.