THE MRBT MODEL - AN ANALYTICAL DISPERSION MODEL IN A FINITE MIXING LAYER - SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS AND VALIDATION AGAINST TRACER MEASUREMENTS

This paper describes the characteristics of the MRBT model for studyin g the dispersion of a pollutant in the lower atmosphere under conditio ns of spatial homogeneity. The MRBT is shown to be a simple and effici ent model based upon a non-stationary analytical solution of the atmos pheric dispersion equation in a finite mixing layer. The results of th e sensitivity analysis and of validation testing, made with field meas urements of tracers carried out at the Nuclear Research Centre in Karl sruhe (Germany), demonstrate the superiority of MRBT with respect to t raditional Gaussian models. The model is currently implemented in FORT RAN 77 for the personal computer and is suitable for an initial assess ment of short-term atmospheric dispersion with limited computing resou rces.