Tracer dispersion simulation in low wind speed conditions with a new 2D Langevin equation system

The simulation of atmospheric dispersion in low wind speed conditions (LW) is still recognised as a challenge for modellers. Recently, a new system of two coupled Langevin equations that explicitly accounts for meandering has been proposed. It is based on the study of turbulence and dispersion properties in LW. The new system was implemented in the Lagrangian stochastic particle models LAMBDA and GRAL. In this paper we present simulations with this new approach applying it to the tracer experiments carried out in LW by Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL, USA) in 1974 and by the Graz University of Technology and CNR-Torino near Graz in 2003. To assess the improvement obtained with the present model with respect to previous models not taking into account the meandering effect, the simulations for the INEL experiments were also performed with the old version of LAMBDA. The results of the comparisons clearly indicate that the new approach improves the simulation results. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.