MULTIRESOLUTION FEATURE ANALYSIS AND OTHER TECHNIQUES FOR UNDERSTANDING AND MODELING TURBULENCE IN STABLE ATMOSPHERES Final Report

Our DOE project is one of the efforts comprising the Vertical Transport and Mixing Program of the Environmental Sciences Division of the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in Department of Energy. We used ARPS to simulate flow in the Salt Lake Valley. We simulated the physical processes more accurately so that we can better understand the physics of flow in complex terrain and its effects at larger scales. The simulations provided evidence that atmospheric forcing interacts with the Jordan Narrows, the Traverse Range and other complex mountain terrain at the south end of the Salt Lake Valley to produce lee rotors, hydraulic jumps and other effects. While we have successfully used ARPS to simulate VTMX 2000 flows, we have also used observed data to test the model and identify some of its weaknesses. Those are being addressed in a continuation project supported by DOE.