Integrated Terrain Modeling for Predicting Dust Emission Hazards for Military Operations in Deserts

Deserts are, and will continue to be, strategic sites for military operations. Mobility, flexibility, and rapid military deployment require the ability to predict diverse conditions; however, deserts are extreme, unpredictable environments. Severe dust emissions leading to brown-out and a sudden loss of visibility are particularly hazardous for rotorcraft in military operations. We are developing a comprehensive integrated modeling system that can predict the location of dust hazards as well as model dust emission and transport and related impacts to visibility during military operations.

The modeling system consists of five integrated modular components: (1) predictive soil maps; (2) background meteorology; (3) flow perturbation due to military operations (primarily rotorcraft); (4) dust transport and dispersion; and (5) visibility and brownout predictions. Soil predictive maps are based on systematic integration of the spatial distribution, age, and geology of desert landforms in geomorphic models to provide system (GIS) platform for predicting terrain conditions. Dust emission is simulated with a new version of the Dust Entrainment and Deposition Model (DEAD) model which has been modified to include features from the Raupach method. Background meteorology encompassing processes from synoptic scale to mesoscale is predicted using a high-resolution Mesoscale Model 5 (MM5). Perturbations of the atmospheric flows due to rotorcraft operations are simulated using the Computational Fluid Dynamics model with an integrated rotor parameterization tool. Once the dust emissions and perturbed meteorology are known, a Lagrangian Random Particle Dispersion Model is used to accurately simulate the transport and dispersion of dust. We have developed an algorithm that uses the simulated dust concentrations to predict visibility and brownout. Results indicate that the soil predictions and modeling will greatly enhance forecasting local and regional dust transport and dispersion as well as predicting brownout conditions for military operations.