Validation of trajectory calculations

Principal Investigator

Dr Nicole Spichtinger & Dr R. Damoah
Department of Ecology
Technical University of Munich
Am Hochanger 13
D - 85354 Freising
Germany

spichtinger@forst.tu-muenchen.de

(Initially registered in the names of Dr Andreas Stohl and Dr Paul James)

Project description

Trajectory and particle-dispersion models are important tools for describing air mass motions and are often used to establish source-receptor relationships in the atmosphere. However, the accuracy of such calculations is limited by various factors such as numerical truncation, interpolation methods, the treatment of vertical velocity and possible errors in the underlying wind fields [Stohl, 1998]. It is therefore vital to assess the impact of these potential error factors on trajectory accuracy for concrete atmospheric situations. Using comprehensive wind-field data available from the ECMWF, it is the continued aim of this special project to employ various three-dimensional trajectory computation methods and particle dispersion techniques to assess accuracy, both intrinsically and between different models.

We also took ECMWF windfield data for modelling a „pyroconvection“ event over Alaska in June 2004.

For more details, please refer to the latest progress report.

Additional information

Project started in 1998.