LAB Announcements

Spotlight

Scott Speckart

Scott Speckart

Hometown: Salt Lake City

Program: PhD (Graduated December 2013)

Current Position: Air Dispersion Modeler, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection

Research Interests: My interests include: the examination of atmospheric dispersion both numerically and experimentally. The numerical aspect spans from Lagrangian dispersion models to simpler Atmospheric dispersion models (ADE). Comparing these model results with measurements from the field is very rewarding. My research has implemented these models and methodology to understanding the problem of near source deposition of PM10 generated from traffic on unpaved roads.

I am also interested in the modeling of turbulence. This includes the implementation of simple mixing length models to more complex Large Eddy Simulation (LES). The application of these methods Atmospheric flows to smaller scale engineering flows is of great interest to me.

Publications:
Speckart, S., Pardyjak, E., Quick response modeling of windbreaks (Manuscript under preparation).
Speckart, S., Pardyjak, E., Veranth J.V., Parameters that influence the removal of PM10 in the near source zone downwind of unpaved roads: suggested by field studies and confirmed by numerical solution (Manuscript under preparation).
Holmes, H.A., Pardyjak, E.R., Speckart S.O., Alexander A., 2011. Comparison of indoor/outdoor carbon content and time resolved PM concentrations for gas and biomass cooking fuels in Nogales Sonora. Atmospheric Environment 45:7600-7611
Pardyjak, E.R., Speckart, S. O., Yin F., Veranth J.M., 2008. Near source deposition of vehicle generated fugitive dust on vegetation and buildings: Model development and theory. Atmospheric Environment 42: 6442–6452
J. Veranth, S. Speckart, B. Addepelli, and E. Pardyjak, 2010: Development of windbreak dust control models for roadway fugitive dust mitigation and transport flux, AAAR 29th Annual Conference, Portland, OR, 25-29 October 2010. Paper Number: 8.B.16
John M. Veranth, Kevin Perry, Eric Pardyjak, Scott Speckart, Raed Labban, Erin Kaser, John Watson, Judy C. Chow, Vic Etyemezian, Steve Kohl, “Characterization of PM2.5 Dust Emissions from Training/Testing Range Operations." Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) Project SI-1190 August 2008)
John Veranth, Scott Speckart, Eric Pardyjak, “Experimental and modeling study of particle deposition near roads.” (American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR) Reno Nevada, September 2007)
H.A. Holmes, S. O. Speckart and E. R. Pardyjak, 2007: Comparison of the time evolved spatial distribution of urban PM2.5 concentrations during burning and wind-blown high PM events in Yuma, AZ, Amer. Meteor. Soc., Seventh Symposium on the Urban Environment, San Diego, CA, 10-13 September 2007, paper 8.5.
Eric Pardyjak, Prathap Ramamurthy, Scott Speckart, “Development of a windbreak dust control strategy tool for communities in arid climates such as the US-Mexico border region.” (Southwest Consortium for Environmental Research and Policy (SCERP) Annual Technical Conference, Tucson Arizona, December 2006)
Eric Pardyjak, Scott Speckart, “Assessment of windbreaks as a dust control strategy for communities in arid climates such as the US-Mexico border region.” (Southwest Consortium for Environmental Research and Policy (SCERP) Annual Technical Conference, San Diego January 2006)
Veranth , J., S. Speckart, E. Pardyjak, V. Etyemezian, Experimental and numerical studies of near source fugitive dust transport, American Association for Aerosol Research, 2005 Annual Conference, Austin, Texas October 17 - 21, 2005.
Scott Speckart, Eric Pardyjak, Vic Etyemezian, Fang Yin, John Veranth,” Computational Modeling of Near-Source Deposition of Fugitive Dust on Vegetative Surfaces.” (Air and Waste Management Association Conference, Minneapolis Minnesota, June 2005)

Observational and Theoretical Investigations Related to Hydrometeors Settling in Turbulent Air

Red Butte Canyon, UT Video demonstration of the measurement of SWE using the Differential Emissivity Disdrometer (DEID) and imaging for falling snowflakes using an SLR camera and laser for particle tracking velocimetry.

Supported by the National Science Foundation - AGS 1841870

Investigators, Senior Personnel, and Collaborators:
Tim Garrett (University of Utah, Principal Investigator)
Eric Pardyjak (Utah, Co-Principal Investigator)

Postdoctoral Researchers:
Dhiraj Kumar Singh (Mech Eng)
Students:
Spencer Donovan (MS)
Karlie Rees (MS now PhD Atmos Sci)
Ryan Szczerbinski (PhD Atmos Sci)
Trent Meisenheimer (MS Mech Eng)

Numerical weather and climate models are sensitive to descriptions of how fast frozen precipitation falls. Many models still use calculations that are rooted in measurements taken nearly 50 years ago. This award will provide up-to-date information on precipitation fall speed, including the impact of turbulence. The work will be accomplished using a new instrument called the Airborne Particle Imager which is designed to measure 3D velocity and take high resolution photography of the individual particles. The main broader societal impact of the award will be the confirmation or improvement upon the assumptions made by numerical models, which will potentially lead to improved weather forecasts. The lead researcher has provided significant public outreach through snowflake imagery, and the new instrument should improve upon those images. The instrument also has potential interdisciplinary and technology transfer uses. In addition, the award will provide education and training opportunities, including support for a female military veteran.

The research team plans an observational and theoretical project to improve understanding of how the turbulent atmosphere affects the fall speed of precipitation. A central aspect of the project will be the development of the Airborne Particle Imager (AIP) which is an update to the current Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC). The AIP will minimize ambient flow disturbance and add 3D velocity measurements to the MASC's existing capabilities. The AIP will be deployed during the 2019-2020 winter in the Complex Hydrometeor Aerial Locomotion and Image Capture Experiment (CHALICE) with other instruments to relate particle type, orientation, and motions to the degree of ambient turbulence. The observations will be compared to numerical models and past studies to explore the hypothesis that particle settling speed is slowed in low turbulence and accelerated in high turbulence situations, with increased deviation of particle orientation from the horizontal.