Model Simulations of Local Meteorological Conditions in the Vicinity of a Hypothetical Nuclear Power Plant in Jordan

As a solution for the increasing energy demand in Jordan, nuclear power was recommended for the energy mix at the national level. However, investigations of the meteorological conditions and mass transfer have never been conducted and reported earlier based on typical Jordanian conditions in order to have prior knowledge in case of a future hypothetical nuclear accident in Jordan. In this study, the variabilities of horizontal and vertical wind components and surface temperature differences have been investigated near one of the originally suggested locations for the construction of a nuclear power plant facility. That proposed location is the site of the Samra Energy Power Plant (SEPP). The selected domain of the simulation model was 85×85 km^2 in area (17×17 grid points and 13 vertical layers) surrounding the SEPP site. The simulations revealed that the wind direction near the surface was developed to comply with the complexity of the terrain regardless of the input values of the prevailing wind direction. The wind direction propagated along the valleys that are surrounded by the dominating mountains. The surface wind speed was proportional to the input value of the wind speed as well as to the slope of the surrounding terrain. Quantitatively, the developed surface wind speed was 0.5–2.1 m/s in January compared with 1.0–4.3 m/s in July. The vertical component of wind velocity was the lowest (nearly zero in January versus ~0.1 m/s in July) near the surface. In practice, the main outcome of this investigation can serve as a base-block for considering other possible geographical locations for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Jordan and for case studies intended to assess possible consequences in case of accidental releases and other potential accidents of possible nuclear, chemical, industrial danger.