Volume 2: Environmental and Sturgeon Upgrader Project Socio-economic Impact Assessment Appendix 5C: Meteorology APPENDIX 5C METEOROLOGY December 2006 Page 5C-1 Sturgeon Upgrader Project Volume 2: Environmental and Appendix 5C: Meteorology Socio-economic Impact Assessment December 2006 Page 5C-2 Volume 2: Environmental and Sturgeon Upgrader Project Socio-economic Impact Assessment Appendix 5C: Meteorology 5C.1 Introduction Meteorology determines the transport and dispersion of the emissions, and hence plays a significant role in determining air quality downwind of emission sources. For the Sturgeon Upgrader air quality assessment, meteorological data for the year 2002 were used to define transport and dispersion parameters. The meteorological data from the 2002 period are compared to the longer term climate information to provide a measure of representativeness for this year. Meteorological characteristics vary with time (e.g., season and time of day) and location (e.g., height, terrain and land use). The CALMET meteorological pre-processing program was used to provide temporally and spatially varying meteorological parameters for the CALPUFF model. This appendix provides an overview of the meteorology and climate for the region as well as the technical details and options that were used for the application of the CALMET meteorological preprocessor to the Project study area. 5C.2 Study Domain The CALMET study domain adopted for the Project extends from approximately 53.3 degrees latitude in the south to 54.3 degrees latitude in the north, and from 113.9 degrees longitude in the west to 112.4 degrees longitude in the east, as shown in Figure 5C-1. The CALMET study domain includes the communities of Edmonton and Leduc towards the south of the domain, and the community of Westlock in the north. The study domain covers a 10,000-km2 area, the extents of which are provided in Table 5C-1. Table 5C-1: CALMET (100 km by 100 km) domain coordinates (UTM Zone 12; NAD 83) Domain Extent Easting Northing (m) (m) Southwest 307000 5917000 Northwest 307000 6017000 Southeast 407000 5917000 Northeast 407000 6017000 A horizontal grid spacing of 1 km was selected for the CALMET simulation; the study area therefore corresponds to 100 rows by 100 columns. With this grid spacing, it was possible to maximize run time and file size efficiencies while still capturing large-scale terrain feature influences on wind flow patterns. To properly simulate pollution transport and dispersion, it is also important to simulate the typical vertical profiles of wind direction, wind speed, temperature, and turbulence intensity within the atmospheric boundary layer (i.e., the layer within about 2000 metres above the Earth’s surface). To capture this vertical structure, eight vertical layers were selected. CALMET defines a vertical layer as the midpoint between two faces (i.e., nine faces corresponds to eight layers, with the lowest layer always being ground level or 10 m). The vertical faces used in this study are 0, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 600, 1400 and 2600 m. December 2006 Page 5C-3 320000 340000 360000 380000 400000 Pibroch RGE 26 RGE 25 RGE 24 RGE 23 RGE 22 RGE 21 RGE 20 RGE 19 RGE 18 RGE 17 Westlock W4M 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 Vimy TWP 59 Waskatenau Re dw at er 829 TWP 58 R iv Busby er 0 Legal 0 0 0 0 Redwater Redwater 0 0 28 0 8 Natural Area 8 9 9 5 Lostpoint TWP 57 5 Lake 803 er 38 iv R 45 an ew ch Gibbons at Bon Accord sk 643 a TWP 56 S Be Morinville av h erh r t ill C e r reek iv o R N 0 0 0 n Bruderheim 0 0 28 eo 0 0 g 28A 0 6 r 15 6 9 tu 9 5 S 5 Lamont Namao TWP 55 Fort Saskatchewan 825 Astotin Lake 830 TWP 54 21 Elk Island National Park 0 0 0 0 0 Fawayik 0 0 0 4 4 9 Lake 9 5 Edmonton 16 TWP 53 5 TWP 52 Beaver Hills Beaverhill 0 Lake 0 0 Cooking 0 0 0 0 Lake 0 2 2 9 9 5 Devon 5 320000 340000 360000 380000 400000 Community Elevation (m ASL) Paved Access 790 Unpaved Access Railway 560 Project Fence Line Urban Area Natural Area Protected Area PREPARED FOR STURGEON UPGRADER 5 0 5 10 15 PREPARED BY Terrain in the Distance in Kilometres Jacques Whitford-AXYS DRAFT DATE PROJECT SCALE 100 km by 100 km Projection: 02/10/2006 OS1589 1:650,000 UTM 12 NAD 83 REVISION DATE FIGURE ID CALMET Domain 24/11/2006 Acknowledgements: AXYS-CAL-053-000 Original Drawing by: Jacques Whitford-AXYS DRAWN CHECKED APPROVED FIGURE Consulting Ltd. Sources: Alberta Government, NRN AO MD MD 5C-1 Volume 2: Environmental and Sturgeon Upgrader Project Socio-economic Impact Assessment Appendix 5C: Meteorology 5C.2.1 Regional Topography The valleys and elevated terrain features can affect local surface wind flow patterns. A general overview of the terrain within the CALMET domain is presented in Figure 5C-1. Terrain features include: • The North Saskatchewan River valley is an important feature of the domain. At its deepest point, the valley is about 30 m lower than the surrounding area. • The Redwater River connects to the North Saskatchewan valley northeast of Fort Saskatchewan. • Elk Island National Park (~730 m or 2400 ft AMSL) is in the south-southeast part of the domain. • Ministik Lake Provincial Bird Sanctuary (~762 m or 2500 ft AMSL) is in the southern part of the domain. • The Beaverhill Lake (~680 m or 2230 ft AMSL) is in the southeast part of the domain and is the largest body of water in the region. • Elevated terrain in the Bon Accord area (~720 m or 2360 ft AMSL) is west-northwest of the Project and the Beaver Hills region (~760 m or 2500 ft AMSL) located in the southeast part of the domain. • Lower terrain (~610 m or 2000 ft AMSL) is northeast portion of the domain along the North Saskatchewan River valley. The valleys and elevated terrain features can affect local surface wind flow patterns; however, the remainder of the domain is predominantly flat. While the selected grid spacing (1 km) is sufficient to resolve broad-scale North Saskatchewan River valley influences, it will not resolve detailed local-scale valley influences. As the Project site is located approximately 3 km from the edge of the valley, this loss of resolution will not affect the assessment. 5C.2.2 Land-use Data Land-use in the CALMET study domain is mixed. The domain is characterized by agricultural land (70 percent), forestland (19 percent), rangeland (10 percent), urban or built-up land (4 percent), and water (3 percent). Values for surface roughness (z0), leaf area index (LAI), albedo, Bowen ratio and soil heat flux are given in Table 5C-2. The year was divided into four seasons as follows: winter (January, February and December), spring (March, April and May), summer (June, July and August) and fall (September, October and November). Figure 5C-2 shows the land use on a 1 km resolution basis for the study area. December 2006 Page 5C-5 320000 340000 360000 380000 400000 Pibroch RGE 26 RGE 25 RGE 24 RGE 23 RGE 22 RGE 21 RGE 20 RGE 19 RGE 18 RGE 17 Westlock W4M 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 Vimy TWP 59 Waskatenau Re dw at er 829 TWP 58 R iv Busby er 0 Legal 0 0 0 0 Redwater Redwater 0 0 28 0 8 Natural Area 8 9 9 5 Lostpoint TWP 57 5 Lake 803 er 38 iv R 45 an ew ch Gibbons at Bon Accord sk 643 a TWP 56 S Be Morinville av h erh r t ill C e r reek iv o R N 0 0 0 n Bruderheim 0 0 28 eo 0 0 g 28A 0 6 r 15 6 9 tu 9 5 S 5 Lamont Namao TWP 55 Fort Saskatchewan 825 Astotin Lake 830 TWP 54 21 Elk Island National Park 0 0 0 0 0 Fawayik 0 0 0 4 4 9 Lake 9 5 Edmonton 16 TWP 53 5 TWP 52 Beaver Hills Beaverhill 0 Lake 0 0 Cooking 0 0 0 0 Lake 0 2 2 9 9 5 Devon 5 320000 340000 360000 380000 400000 Community Land Use Class Paved Access Urban Unpaved Access Agriculture Railway Ranchlands Project Fence Line Mixed Forest Protected Area Deciduous Forest Natural Area Coniferous Forest Urban Area Water PREPARED FOR STURGEON UPGRADER 5 0 5 10 15 PREPARED BY Land-Use Classes on a Distance in Kilometres Jacques Whitford-AXYS 1 km by 1km Grid in the DRAFT DATE PROJECT SCALE Projection: 02/10/2006 OS1589 1:650,000 UTM 12 NAD 83 100 km by 100 km REVISION DATE FIGURE ID 24/11/2006 Acknowledgements: AXYS-CAL-053-000 CALMET Domain Original Drawing by: Jacques Whitford-AXYS DRAWN CHECKED APPROVED FIGURE Consulting Ltd. Sources: Alberta Government, NRN AO MD MD 5C-2 Volume 2: Environmental and Sturgeon Upgrader Project Socio-economic Impact Assessment Appendix 5C: Meteorology Table 5C-2: CALMET Domain Land-use Characterization and Associated Geophysical Parameters Surface Roughness Albedo Bowen Ratio (m) Land Use Class Win Spr Sum Fal Win Spr Sum Fal Win Spr Sum Fal Cropland 0.15 0.22 0.50 0.32 0.75 0.20 0.20 0.20 2.0 0.4 0.4 0.4 Rangeland 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 Mixed Forest 1.20 1.2 1.15 1.15 0.17 0.13 0.12 0.12 2.0 1.5 0.9 0.9 Deciduous forest 0.55 0.75 1.05 0.95 0.21 0.15 0.15 0.15 2.0 1.5 0.6 0.6 Coniferous Forest 0.90 0.90 0.80 0.90 0.13 0.11 0.08 0.08 2.0 1.5 1.4 1.4 Urban 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 Water .001 .001 .001 .001 0.75 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Soil Heat Flux (fraction) Leaf Area Index Land Use Class Win Spr Sum Fal Win Spr Sum Fal Cropland 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.8 2.2 2.8 0.3 Rangeland 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 Mixed Forest 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 2.3 3.3 4.5 2.3 Deciduous forest 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.0 3.4 0.1 Coniferous Forest 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 4.5 5.2 5.2 4.7 Urban 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 Water 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 NOTE: Win = winter, Spr = spring, Sum = summer, Fal = fall 5C.3 Meteorology and Climate Meteorological data collected in the area surrounding the Project site have been analyzed to characterize the existing regional and local climate.