A 3-D NUMERICAL MODEL FOR PREDICTING MESOSCALE WINDFIELDS OVER VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE

A 3-D NUMERICAL MODEL FOR PREDICTING MESOSCALE WINDFIELDS OVER VANDENBERG AFB IS BEING DEVELOPED. THE MODEL UTILIZES AN OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE AND AVAILABLE METEOROLOGICAL DATA TO GENERATE A FIRST GUESS, MASS CONSISTENT WINDFIELD. A HYBRID FINITE ELEMENT METHOD IS THEN USED TO SOLVE THE PRIMITIVE EQUATIONS OF MOTION FOR PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS. A 3-D MESH GENERATOR IS INCLUDED WITH THE COMPUTER CODE FOR GRID REFINEMENT AND ADJUSTMENT. VANDENBURG AFB IS LOCATED ON THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST. THE TERRAIN CONSISTS OF FLATLANDS, VALLEYS, CANYONS, RIDGELINES, AND MOUNTAINS WHICH RISE TO ELEVATIONS OVER 600 M. WINDFLOW IS INFLUENCED BY SYNOPTIC, REGIONAL, AND LOCAL METEOROLOGICAL EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TERRAIN. STRONG INVERSIONS ARE COMMON OVER THE AERA. THE NUMERICAL MODEL IS CAPABLE OF ACCURATELY CALCULATING FLOW OVER COMPLEX TERRAIN FEATURES, AND CAN BE USED TO PREDICT DISPERSION OF CONCENTRATIONS WITHIN THE MIXING LAYER. A SMALL SCALE VERSION OF THE PROGRAM (UP TO 5000 NODES - 25,000 DEGREES OF FREEDOM) CAN BE RUN ON AN ENHANCED PERSONAL COMPUTER.