SEDL / STP / STP653-EB / STP36588S

Inadequacies of Atmospheric Stability Measurements and Recommendations for Improvement

Carlson, JH
Meteorologist, professional assistant, president, and professional assistant, Meteorological Evaluation Services, Inc., Amityville, N.Y.

Hollister, RA
Meteorologist, professional assistant, president, and professional assistant, Meteorological Evaluation Services, Inc., Amityville, N.Y.

Smith, ME
Meteorologist, professional assistant, president, and professional assistant, Meteorological Evaluation Services, Inc., Amityville, N.Y.

Castelli, FP
Meteorologist, professional assistant, president, and professional assistant, Meteorological Evaluation Services, Inc., Amityville, N.Y.

Pages: 11    Published: Jan 1978

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Abstract

Three of the most commonly used atmospheric dispersion classification schemes—STAR, Delta-T, and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) gustiness— are compared at shore and inland stations. Large inconsistencies were found between the three systems for all major stability groups. The STAR program consistently gave higher percentages of neutral cases as compared to the BNL and Delta-T systems. Similarly, the BNL scheme gave the highest estimate of unstable conditions and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Delta-T gave the highest estimate of stable cases. Limitations of these three systems are discussed and recommendations for improvement are suggested.