Lateral dispersion in light-wind stable conditions

Summary At downwind distances of 400 m or less, the angular standard deviation, σ_θc, of the lateral distribution of pollutants released from a point source over a given time period is shown to equal the standard deviation, σ_θ, of the wind direction fluctuations observed over the same time period. Data taken during light wind, stable conditions at two field sites (Idaho Falls, ID, and Oak Ridge, TN) are used in this analysis. This relation is most reliable if the pollutant concentration distribution is observed on a circle at constant distance from the source (i.e., on a polar coordinate system). Paper presented at the GNFAO/EURASAP Meeting, Turin, September 1989. To speed up publication, proofs were not sent to the author and were supervised by the Scientific Committee.