Snow and Dust Deposition Patterns Over Simulated Hills

Model results from a 2019 study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres by F. Comola et al. simulate preferential deposition of snow and dust particles over complex terrain. The dataset contains 2D arrays of deposition values (kg/m²) for each surface node in a Cartesian grid, generated using a coupled large eddy simulation and Lagrangian stochastic model. The research aimed to reconcile contradictory findings on deposition maxima and minima by analyzing the roles of particle inertia, flow advection, and gravity.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between particle Froude/Stokes numbers and deposition patterns using the simulation results.
• Validate simpler deposition models against the high-resolution LES-LSM output for hills with different aspect ratios.
• Investigate the accuracy of the inertialess particle assumption by comparing deposition arrays from specific simulation runs.
• Map deposition maxima and minima (kg/m²) across the 2D surface grid (ix, iy nodes) for isolated and sequential hill scenarios.

Strengths

• Model performance was tested against wind tunnel measurements of dust deposition.
• Scale analysis provides results for hills with different aspect ratios, enhancing generalizability.
• Simulations are based on a coupled high-fidelity modeling approach (LES, LSM, immersed-boundary method).

Limitations

• The dataset size, row count, and specific number of simulation files are not provided.
• Simulations are limited to neutrally stable atmospheric conditions, not covering all real-world stability regimes.
• Geographic scope is defined by simulated topography, not real-world locations.

Provenance

Source

ENVIDAT, associated with the 2019 paper in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Collection Method

Generated via computational modeling: large eddy simulations of turbulent airflow coupled with a Lagrangian stochastic model for particle trajectories.

Time Range

null

Freshness

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Geography

Simulated complex terrain (isolated and sequential hills); not tied to a specific real-world location.