Burton, RR, Dudhia, J, Gadian, AM orcid.org/0000-0001-9890-403X et al. (1 more author) (2016) The use of a numerical weather prediction model to simulate the release of a dense gas with an application to the Lake Nyos disaster of 1986. Meteorological Applications, 24 (1). pp. 43-51. ISSN 1350-4827
Abstract
The spread of a dense gas in the atmosphere is a phenomenon that occurs widely with natural (and anthropogenic) causes and is often associated with high impact and hazardous events. In this study a method of simulating the spread of dense gases in a numerical weather prediction model is presented. This approach has the advantage that dense gases can be simulated in regions of complex terrain using realistic forcings (in terms of both the driving meteorological fields and the representation of surface characteristics). The model formulation is tested against semi-idealized gravity-current-type experiments and similar modelling studies. As an example application, the Lake Nyos disaster of 1986, where a dense CO2 cloud spread through a mountainous region of Cameroon, is simulated. The predicted spread of CO2 agrees (qualitatively) very well with the observations. The method provides a means of determining a potential ‘safe height’ above which simulated concentrations are not hazardous, and thus the height above which refuge should be taken during similar future events. The simulation demonstrates a novel application which can be rapidly applied to other scenarios.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 The Authors. Meteorological Applications published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the Royal Meteorological Society.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | dense gas; forecasting; gravity current; hazards; modelling; WRF |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > National Centre for Atmos Science (NCAS) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 27 Jan 2017 14:40 |
Last Modified: | 05 Oct 2017 16:12 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1002/met.1603 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/met.1603 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:111225 |