On the Atmospheric Dispersion and Gaussian Plume Model

As an air pollutant is transported from a source to a potential receptor the pollutant disperses into the surrounding air so that it arrives at a much lower concentration than it was on leaving the source. Strict environmental regulations worldwide resulted in an ever growing concern about the validity and reliability of air quality dispersion models. The present work is a try to evaluate the applicability of dispersion models from an industrial source. Two examples of the air quality dispersion models are considered here; the classical Gaussian plume model by Sutton and PRISE (Plume Rise) model by Henderson-Sellers and Allen.