JP1.31
The Ventilation Index Climate Information System (VCIS)
Sue Ferguson, USDA - Forest Service; and S. J. McKay, D. E. Nagel, T. Piepho, M. Rorig, C. Anderson, and L. Kellogg
A unique database of surface wind, mixing height, and ventilation index has
just been completed by the USDA-Forest Service to support smoke management
planning and implementation. The data cover the entire United States with
a grid resolution of about 5 kilometers. It was generated twice each day
(0000 and 1200 UTC) for over 30 years (1961-1990). The surface winds were
generated with a single-level, hydrostatic flow model using upper-air data
from the NCEP Reanalysis package. The mixing heights were determined from
radiosonde measurements using Holzworth's parcel method, interpolated with
a weighted Cressman scheme, and adjusted for local, nighttime inversion
potential. The inversion potential was derived from a unique set of
algorithms that consider concavity, steepness, and flow accumulation of the
terrain and calm, clear conditions at night from nearby surface
observations. An Internet map server allows access to statistical
summaries of all the data from any point on the landscape
Joint Poster Session 1, Joint Poster Session with Reception
Monday, 13 May 2002, 5:30 PM-7:00 PM
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