Notes on a finite differencing scheme for the dispersion equation

Finite difference techniques applied to atmospheric dispersion problems often encounter time step limitations due to the variance in the characteristic length scales (horizontal to vertical) of both the field variables and the computational region. Methods to maximize the integration time step are explored and techniques are described which ensure numerical accuracy and stability of these optimized time step techniques.

To circumvent time step limitations arising from consideration of the vertical diffusion term in the dispersion equation, a column implicitization technique is suggested which, through correction terms added to the differencing equation to compensate for truncation errors, provides an efficient and economical atmospheric dispersion solver which is insensitive to the common time step limitations of explicit schemes when large aspect ratio computational volumes are required. Further, it is shown that a relaxed stability criteria proposed by Leonard and Clancy for explicit differencing of the horizontal terms in the dispersion equation, presents a further saving in computational time provided correction terms to the differencing equation are included to eliminate phase and amplitude errors resulting from the larger time steps employed.