| Summary: | A widely applicable computational model of buoyant, bent-
over plumes in realistic atmospheres is constructed. To do this,
the two-dimensional, time-dependent fluid mechanics equations are
numerically integrated, while a number of important physical ap-
proximations serve to keep the approach at a tractable level. A
three-dimensional picture of a steady state plume is constructed
from a sequence of time-dependent, two-dimensional plume cross
sections--each cross section of the sequence is spaced progres-
sively further downwind as it is advected for a progressively
longer time by the prevailing wind. The dynamics of the plume
simulations are quite general. The buoyancy sources in the plume
include the sensible heat in the plume, the latent heat absorbed
or released in plume moisture processes, and the heating of the
plume by a radioactive pollutant in the plume. The atmospheric
state in the simulations is also quite general. Atmospheric var-
iables are allowed to be functions of height, and the ambient
atmospheric turbulence (also a function of height) is included
in the simulations.
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