The study of turbulence in the atmosphere has seen considerable progress
in the last decade. To put it briefly: boundary-layer meteorology, the
branch of atmospheric science that concentrates on turbulence in the
lower atmosphere, has moved from the surface layer into the boundary
layer itself. The progress has been made on all fronts: theoretical,
numerical and observational. On the other hand, air pollution modeling
has not seen such a rapid evolution. It has not benefited as much as it
should have from the increasing knowledge in the field of atmospheric
turbulence. Air pollution modeling is still in many ways based on
observations and theories of the surface layer only. This book aims to
bring the reader up to date on recent advances in boundary-layer
meteorology and to pave the path for applications in air pollution
dispersion problems. The text originates from the material presented
during a short course on Atmospheric Turbulence and Air Pollution
Modeling held in The Hague during September 1981. This course was
sponsored and organized by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological
Institute, xi xii PREFACE to which both editors are affiliated. The
Netherlands Government Ministry of Health and Environmental Protection
and the Council of Europe also gave support.