Measurement of the dynamic characteristics of atmospheric diffusion

A new method is proposed for studying the diffusion of atmospheric pollutants above real sites which considers the actual magnitudes encountered. The dynamic application of this method yields original information. In view of justifying the method, fundamental theories concerning diffusion are presented together with different models for the atmosphere. The atmosphere is then considered as a linear filter to which the process identification method is applied. The pulse response of the filter is examined in the pollutant - time plane. The limits of the method and its field of application are discussed. The concept of ergodism and stationariness are introduced. Various diffusion experiments carried out under different conditions are reviewed. Information on the effect of obstacles, and the roughness of the ground is given together with calculations of the longitudinal diffusion and the transport velocity. A brief description is then given of the apparatus used to measure the concentrations and the meteorological conditions. The correlation calculation is also briefly presented. (author)