Influence of background sources and topographic resolution in the Weather Research and Forecasting Model on xenon plume characteristics at monitoring stations

For many atmospheric monitoring applications, networks of measurement sites—such as the radionuclide stations of the International Monitoring System—can be sparse. With measurement locations potentially hundreds to thousands of kilometers from a release it is important to quantify the effects of physical processes on transport and dispersion of plumes between source and measurement locations. This study addresses the effects of background sources and topography resolution near the release location of radionuclides. We use the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with inline chemistry to investigate (1) how an additional, time-varying source of ¹³³Xe, such as an operational medical isotope production facility, contributes to activity concentration measurements at monitoring sites, and (2) how complex topography influences on atmospheric conditions near emission sources impact plume concentrations at varying distances from the source. Two ¹³³Xe emission sources, including (1) a high flux rate of short duration representing an explosive event, and (2) a variable and continuous background source, are simulated. The continuous background source contributes significantly to total ¹³³Xe concentrations at several monitoring stations. Further, a WRF simulation at 9 km horizontal resolution is compared with a nested grid simulation, where the innermost domain has a resolution of 1 km. Increased topographic resolution leads to an improved representation of plume responses to local winds, with topographic influences greatest at locations closest to the sources. Differences between the two domain resolutions decrease at greater distances from the sources, as plumes have time to spread and mix and are influenced by synoptic scale circulation patterns that are represented similarly in both simulations.