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Tracer experiments with turbulently dispersed air ions

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Abstract

Unipolar air ions released into the wind constitute a tracer which can be measured with high resolution. An ion source produces a cloud with homogeneous charge density, insensitive to source strength, dependent on time since formation only. It is well suited for tracing concentration changes due to turbulence, less suited for cloud size tracing.

A tight array of 8 sensors has been used to examine turbulently dispersed ions. High-resolution records are presented and discussed. The highest concentrations measured could be undiluted source material. The frequency distribution within a plume did not differ from that in a multitude of puffs. The distribution seems to be log-normal with a geometric standard deviation of about 2.45. The time resolution used corresponds to volume resolutions of 40, 225, and 650 cm3. Sample size had no apparent effect.

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Storebø, P.B., Bjorvatten, T., Hønn»shagen, K. et al. Tracer experiments with turbulently dispersed air ions. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 26, 127–139 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00121538

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