Maximum Fluctuations of Wind Direction in Limited Time Intervals at the Levels up to 300 m from Observations at a Meteorological Tower

M. A. Novitskii, L. M. Khachaturova, L. K. Kulizhnikova, and M. K. Matskevich

On the basis of wind direction measurements with 1-s discreteness at the meteorological tower VMM-310 in the town of Obninsk, maximum fluctuations of wind direction are obtained with 10-s averaging over limited time intervals that correspond to the transport of pollutant puffs at distances about 10 km from the source at altitudes up to 300 m. Average values of maximum fluctuations of wind direction decrease with increasing wind speed, level of measurements, and stratification stability. Examples are presented of distributions of maximum fluctuations of wind direction as dependent of these factors. Parameters are given of distributions of maximum fluctuations of wind direction at six levels under different wind speeds and different atmospheric stability. The empirical distributions are approximated by Weibull distribution, and parameters of the latter are presented for separate levels. The results obtained can be used for estimation of an angular size of an area of possible pollution under different conditions of atmospheric stratification, wind speed, and levels of transport of an instantaneous puff of pollutants for the pollutant cloud motion up to a distance of 10 km from the source.