Construction of the SILAM Eulerian atmospheric dispersion model based on the advection algorithm of Michael Galperin

Abstract. The paper presents the transport module of the System for Integrated modeLling of Atmospheric coMposition SILAM v.5 based on the advection algorithm of Michael Galperin. This advection routine, so far weakly presented in the international literature, is positively defined, stable at any Courant number, and efficient computationally. We present the rigorous description of its original version, along with several updates that improve its monotonicity and shape preservation, allowing for applications to long-living species in conditions of complex atmospheric flows. The scheme is connected with other parts of the model in a way that preserves the sub-grid mass distribution information that is a cornerstone of the advection algorithm. The other parts include the previously developed vertical diffusion algorithm combined with dry deposition, a meteorological pre-processor, and chemical transformation modules.

The quality of the advection routine is evaluated using a large set of tests. The original approach has been previously compared with several classic algorithms widely used in operational dispersion models. The basic tests were repeated for the updated scheme and extended with real-wind simulations and demanding global 2-D tests recently suggested in the literature, which allowed one to position the scheme with regard to sophisticated state-of-the-art approaches. The advection scheme performance was fully comparable with other algorithms, with a modest computational cost.

This work was the last project of Dr. Sci. Michael Galperin, who passed away on 18 March 2008.