A comparison study of atmospheric stability indicators

This study was conducted to investigate the relationships between three meteorological parameters commonly used to determine atmospheric stability for use in air quality modeling. The parameters compared were DT/DZ, σ_θ and σ_&Phi collected hourly for one year from a meteorological tower.

By employing the stability classifications proposed by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it has been shown that the methods are unreliable in determining stability during certain hours of the day. This suggests that pollutant concentration predictions as a result of air quality modeling during these periods will vary depending on the stability indicator used.