Determination of transport wind speed in the gaussian plume diffusion equation for low-lying point sources

A general method for determining the effective transport wind speed, , in the Gaussian plume equation is discussed. Physical arguments are given for using the generalized instead of the often adopted release-level wind speed with the plume diffusion equation. Simple analytical expressions for applicable to low-level point releases and a wide range of atmospheric conditions are developed. A non-linear plume kinematic equation is derived using these expressions. Crosswind-integrated SF6 concentration data from the 1983 PNL tracer experiment are used to evaluate the proposed analytical procedures along with the usual approach of using the release-level wind speed. Results of the evaluation are briefly discussed.