Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Relationship between the Scavenging Coefficient for Pollutants in Precipitation and the Radar Reflectivity Factor. Part II: Applications

Kirsti Jylhä Department of Meteorology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Search for other papers by Kirsti Jylhä in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Print Publication:
01 Oct 1999
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1999)038<1435:RBTSCF>2.0.CO;2
Page(s):
1435–1447
Restricted access

Abstract

The power-law dependences between the scavenging coefficient Λ for pollutants in precipitation and the radar reflectivity factor Z, theoretically derived in Part I, are discussed here from the point of view of applications. Possible problems in their use are related mainly to the uncertain characteristics of the pollutants involved and to common error sources in weather radar measurements of precipitation. The greatest usefulness of the Λ–Z relationships probably is obtained when the hydrometeor population that is producing the radar signal is the same as the population that is scavenging the pollutants. Because radar estimates Z in real time, the relationships can be utilized in short-term forecasts of the cleansing effect of precipitation and of wet deposition. This use is illustrated in the current paper with the aid of radioactivity and radar measurements in Finland following the Chernobyl accident. The Λ–Z relationships yielded estimates of radioactive fallout that were in good agreement with observations: a logarithmic correlation coefficient of 0.67 was found between gamma radiation dose rates and radar-derived estimates for the time integral of Λ, a quantity that is approximately proportional to the accumulated wet deposition.

* Current affiliation: Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Kirsti Jylhä, Finnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 503 (Vuorikatu 19), Helsinki FIN-00101, Finland.

Abstract

The power-law dependences between the scavenging coefficient Λ for pollutants in precipitation and the radar reflectivity factor Z, theoretically derived in Part I, are discussed here from the point of view of applications. Possible problems in their use are related mainly to the uncertain characteristics of the pollutants involved and to common error sources in weather radar measurements of precipitation. The greatest usefulness of the Λ–Z relationships probably is obtained when the hydrometeor population that is producing the radar signal is the same as the population that is scavenging the pollutants. Because radar estimates Z in real time, the relationships can be utilized in short-term forecasts of the cleansing effect of precipitation and of wet deposition. This use is illustrated in the current paper with the aid of radioactivity and radar measurements in Finland following the Chernobyl accident. The Λ–Z relationships yielded estimates of radioactive fallout that were in good agreement with observations: a logarithmic correlation coefficient of 0.67 was found between gamma radiation dose rates and radar-derived estimates for the time integral of Λ, a quantity that is approximately proportional to the accumulated wet deposition.

* Current affiliation: Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Kirsti Jylhä, Finnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 503 (Vuorikatu 19), Helsinki FIN-00101, Finland.

Save
Cover Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology
Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology

  • Andrieu, H., and J. D. Creutin, 1995: Identification of vertical profiles of radar reflectivity for hydrological applications using an inverse method. Part I: Formulation. J. Appl. Meteor.,34, 225–239.

  • ApSimon, H. M., K. L. Simms, and C. G. Collier, 1988: The use of weather radar in assessing deposition of radioactivity from Chernobyl across England and Wales. Atmos. Environ.,22, 1895–1900.

  • Arvela, H., M. Markkanen, and H. Lemmelä, 1990: Mobile survey of environmental gamma radiation and fallout levels in Finland after the Chernobyl accident. Radiat. Prot. Dosim.,32, 177–184.

  • Atlas, D., and C. W. Ulbrich, 1974: The physical basis for attenuation–rainfall relationships and the measurement of rainfall parameters by combined attenuation and radar methods. J. Rech. Atmos.,8, 275–298.

  • Berge, E., 1993: Coupling of wet scavenging of sulphur to clouds in a numerical weather prediction model. Tellus,45B, 1–22.

  • Campistron, B., 1987: Interaction between a natural snowfall and a cooling tower plume: An experimental study with a millimetric Doppler radar. Atmos. Environ.,21, 1375–1383.

  • Chang, T. Y., 1984: Rain and snow scavenging of HNO3 vapor in the atmosphere. Atmos. Environ.,18, 191–197.

  • ——, 1986: Estimates of nitrate formation in rain and snow systems. J. Geophys. Res.,91, 2805–2818.

  • Dutkiewicz, V. A., E. G. Burkhard, M. M. Husain, and L. Husain, 1996: Scavenging and solubility of trace element bearing aerosols on frontal clouds at Whiteface Mountain, NY. Atmos. Res.,41, 337–348.

  • Fabry, F., and I. Zawadzki, 1995: Long-term observations of the melting layer of precipitation and their interpretation. J. Atmos. Sci.,52, 838–851.

  • Harju, A., and T. Puhakka, 1980: A method of correcting quantitative radar measurements for partial beam blocking. Preprints, 19th Conf. on Radar Meteorology, Miami Beach, FL, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 234–239.

  • Hobbs, P. V., 1986: Field studies of cloud chemistry and the relative importance of various mechanisms of the incorporation of sulfate and nitrate into cloud water. Chemistry of Multiphase Atmospheric Systems, W. Jaeschke, Ed., Springer-Verlag, 191–211.

  • ——, 1993: Aerosol–cloud interactions. Aerosol-Cloud-Climate Interactions. International Geophysics Series, Vol. 54, Academic Press, 33–73.

  • IAEA, cited 1996: International conference: One decade after Chernobyl. Summing up the consequences of the accident. Vienna, Austria 8–12 April 1996. [Available online at http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/thisweek/preview/chernobyl/conclsn9.html.].

  • Jantunen, M., A. Reponen, P. Kauranen, and M. Vartiainen, 1991: Chernobyl fallout in southern and central Finland. Health Phys.,60, 427–434.

  • Joss, J., and A. Waldvogel, 1990: Precipitation measurement and hydrology. Radar in Meteorology: Battan Memorial and 40th Anniversary Radar Meteorology Conference, D. Atlas, Ed., Amer. Meteor. Soc., 577–606.

  • ——, and R. Lee, 1995: The application of radar–gauge comparison to operational precipitation profile corrections. J. Appl. Meteor.,34, 2612–2630.

  • Jylhä, K., 1991: Empirical scavenging coefficients of radioactive substances released from Chernobyl. Atmos. Environ.,25A, 263–270.

  • ——, 1995: Deposition around a coal-fired power station during a wintertime precipitation event. Water, Air, Soil Pollut.,85, 2125–2130.

  • ——, 1999: Relationship between the scavenging coefficient for pollutants in precipitation and the radar reflectivity factor. Part I: Derivation. J. Appl. Meteor.,38, 1421–1434.

  • Kauppinen, E. I., R. E. Hillamo, S. H. Aaltonen, and K. T. S. Sinkko, 1986: Radioactivity size distributions of ambient aerosols in Helsinki, Finland, during May 1986 after the Chernobyl accident: Preliminary report. Environ. Sci. Technol.,20, 1257–1259.

  • Kitchen, M., R. Brown, and A. G. Davies, 1994: Real-time correction of weather radar data for the effects of bright band, range and orographic growth in widespread precipitation. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,120, 1231–1254.

  • Koistinen, J., 1991: Operational correction of radar rainfall errors due to the vertical reflectivity profile. Preprints, 25th Int. Conf. on Radar Meteorology, Paris, France, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 91–94.

  • Okita, T., H. Hara, and N. Fukuzaki, 1996: Measurements of atmospheric SO2 and SO2− 4, and determination of the wet scavenging coefficient of sulfate aerosols for the winter monsoon season over the Sea of Japan. Atmos. Environ.,30, 3733–3739.

  • Palmén, E., and C. W. Newton, 1969: Atmospheric Circulation Systems. Academic Press, 603 pp.

  • Persson, C., H. Rodhe, and L.-E. De Geer, 1987: The Chernobyl accident—A meteorological analysis of how radionuclides reached and were deposited in Sweden. Ambio,16, 20–31.

  • Pöllänen, R., I. Valkama, and H. Toivonen, 1997: Transport of radioactive particles from the Chernobyl accident. Atmos. Environ.,31, 3575–3590.

  • POLYN, cited 1998: Hypertext data base: Chernobyl and its consequences. [Available online at http://polyn.net.kiae.su/polyn/manifest.html.].

  • Puhakka, T., K. Jylhä, P. Saarikivi, J. Koistinen, and J. Koivukoski, 1990: Meteorological factors influencing the radioactive deposition in Finland after the Chernobyl accident. J. Appl. Meteor.,29, 813–829.

  • Roesli, H. P., J. Joss, and C. G. Collier, 1987: COST-73 and its application in very short range forecasting. Proc. Symp. on Mesoscale Analysis and Forecasting, Vancouver, BC, Canada, ESA SP-282, 13–18.

  • Sauvageot, H., 1992: Radar Meteorology. Artech House, 366 pp.

  • ——, 1994: Rainfall measurement by radar: A review. Atmos. Res.,35, 27–54.

  • Savolainen, A. L., T. Hopeakoski, J. Kilpinen, P. Kukkonen, A. Kulmala, and I. Valkama, 1986: Dispersion of radioactive releases following the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. Interim Rep. 1986:2, 44 pp. [Available from Finnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 503, FIN-00101 Helsinki, Finland.].

  • Schumann, T., 1991: Aerosol and hydrometeor concentrations and their chemical composition during winter precipitation along a mountain slope—III. Size-differentiated in-cloud scavenging efficiencies. Atmos. Environ.,25A, 809–824.

  • Scott, B. C., 1982: Theoretical estimates of the scavenging coefficient for soluble aerosol particles as a function of precipitation type, rate, and altitude. Atmos. Environ.,16, 1753–1762.

  • Seinfeld, J. H., 1986: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics of Air Pollution. John Wiley and Sons, 738 pp.

  • Seliga, T. A., H. Direskeneli, and K. Aydin, 1989: Potential role of differential reflectivity to estimate scavenging of aerosols. Preprints, 24th Conf. on Radar Meteorology, Tallahassee, FL, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 363–366.

  • Sinkko, K., H. Aaltonen, R. Mustonen, T. K. Taipale, and J. Juutilainen, 1987: Airborne radioactivity in Finland after the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Rep. STUK-A56, 42 pp. [Available from Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, P.O. Box 68, FIN-00101 Helsinki, Finland.].

  • Smith, F. B., 1981: Probability prediction of the wet deposition of airborne pollution. Air Pollution Modeling and Its Application I, C. De Wispelaere, Ed., Plenum Press, 67–98.

  • ——, 1988: Lessons from the dispersion and deposition of debris from Chernobyl. Meteor. Mag.,117, 310–317.

  • Smith, P. L., 1984: Equivalent radar reflectivity factors for snow and ice particles. J. Climate Appl. Meteor.,23, 1258–1260.

  • Sparmacher, H., K. Fulber, and H. Bonka, 1993: Below-cloud scavenging of aerosol particles: Particle-bound radionuclides—experimental. Atmos. Environ.,27A, 605–618.

  • Staehelin, J., and Coauthors, 1993: Scientific goals and experiments of the project “Winter precipitation at Mount Rigi”: An overview. Water, Air, Soil Pollut.,68, 1–14.

  • ten Brink, H. M., S. E. Schwartz, and P. H. Daum, 1987: Efficient scavenging of aerosol sulfate by liquid-water clouds. Atmos. Environ.,21, 2035–2052.

  • Valkama, I., and R. Pöllänen, 1996: Transport of radioactive materials in convective clouds. Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols 1996, M. Kulmala and P. E. Wagner, Eds., Pergamon, 411–414.

  • Vautz, W., M. Schilling, F. L. T. Goncalves, M. C. Solci, O. Massambani, and D. Klockow, 1995: Preliminary analysis of atmospheric scavenging processes in the industrial region of Cubatao, southeastern Brazil. Water, Air, Soil Pollut.,85, 1973–1978.

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 0 0 0
Full Text Views 500 193 23
PDF Downloads 177 39 2