Tracer Technology Group
Urban Dispersion Program
The New York City (NYC) Urban Dispersion
Program (UDP) was designed to be a four-year research program being
conducted from 2004 through 2007. See (Alwine 2006) for an overview of UDP.
The research conducted under this program will improve the ability of
NYC's emergency management teams and first response personnel to protect the
public during releases of hazardous materials.
The program will:
- Improve the permanent network of wind stations in
and around NYC to provide the data necessary to accurately predict how
released hazardous materials will be transported;
- Conduct field studies in NYC to advance knowledge
about the movement of contaminants in and around NYC, into subways,
buildings, and within building interiors;
- Improve and validate computer models that simulate
the atmospheric movement of contaminants in urban areas using data
collected in the field studies; and,
- Transfer the improved capabilities to NYC
emergency management agencies.
Additional information about the UDP can
be found at the following link:
The first of the New York field studies
was conducted in March 2005 in the area around Madison Square Garden (MSG)
and has been designated as MSG05.
Tracer was released at 5 locations around
Madison
Square Garden.
Air samples were collected at 19 street level locations on 360° arcs
at distances approximately 200 and 400 meters from the center of MSG, on the
tops of roofs at various levels of 4 buildings, and with a mobile analyzer
sampling at various locations around and downwind of the release area.
Details of the field program are given in (link to report).
The second of the UDP New York
City field programs was conducted in August 2005 in the midtown area of Manhattan.
This study was larger in scope than MSG05.
The sampling domain was 2 km by 2 km bounded on the north by
61st street, on the south by 36th Street, on the east by 3rd Avenue
and on the west by 10th
Avenue.
The domain encompasses a complex urban environment containing many
important commercial, cultural and transportation centers as well as high
traffic tourist destinations such as Times Square,
Rockefeller
Center, St. Patrick’s
Cathedral, and Grand Central Station (Figure 2).
PFT samples were taken at 62 street level locations, arrayed on a
grid over the domain. Samples
were also taken at 8 subway stations and thirteen building rooftops.
Six Intensive Observation
Periods (IOPs) were conducted.
IOPs 1-3 included a building airflow and infiltration component as well as
surface releases. Three PFT
tracers were released from surface locations and 3 were released inside a
building during these IOPs. .
Five PFTs were released at the
surface during IOPs 4-6 and one PFT was released in a subway station.
Two were released from the same location.
Sampling for PFTs was conducted from
7:00 to 13:00.
Brookhaven National Laboratory has been actively involved in:
- installing permanent wind stations,
- interfacing with Public Administration Employees to obtain
approval for the field studies,
- designing and conducting multiple PFT
release studies above ground and in subways,
- analyzing PFT and wind data collected in the studies, and
- providing logistical support, including students, to assist
in the implementation of the field studies.
more...
News
Newsday 3-15-05 Anatomy of a
Test on Terror
Discover BNL Winter 06 -
Brookhaven Scientists aid in Homeland Security Field Study
Presentations (Powerpoint)
Madison
Square Garden 05 (15 Mbyte)
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Environmental Science Department
Environmental Research & Technology Division
Tracer Technology Group
Last Modified: June 18, 2008
Please forward all questions about this site to:
Linda Satalino
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