Login: My Utah.edu

First time logging on?
Go HERE First.

LAB Announcements

SLC lawn watering recommendation
EFD Lab awarded new NSF grant to study cold fog forming in mountain valleys May 2021
Sustainability growing at the U with the GCSC

Spotlight

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 PM_2.5 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 PM_2.5 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)

Parameterization of the land-surface thermal and moisture heterogeneities

Surface temperature heterogeneity in Utha's West Desert

Surface temperature fluctuation video made by Tim Price

Supported by the National Science Foundation - AGS 1649067

Investigators, Senior Personnel, and Collaborators:
Eric Pardyjak (Utah, Principal Investigator)
Marc Calaf (Utah, Co-Principal Investigator)
Marcu Hultmark (Princeton University, Co-Principal Investigator)

Students:
Travis Morrison
Fabian Margaraiz
Alexei Paralet

This study seeks to create new fundamental knowledge and computer model representations for atmospheric simulations in regions where the land presents large thermal and moisture differences. The investigators will first conduct a high-resolution field experiment using transformative measurement techniques over the playa in Utah's West Desert, where the terrain is characterized by a relatively uniform rough surface with differences in both space and time of surface temperature and soil-moisture. Results from this field experiment will be used to: (1) investigate the time/space structure of the surface temperature and moisture fluctuations and (2) formulate new relationships or corrections that account for the differences in surface temperature and moisture. The research seeks to address the challenges in representing heterogeneities in the Atmospheric Surface Layer (ASL) at finer scales where spatial averaging cannot be used to provide homogeneous fields. Field data will be collected over the Utah Playa, an area with relatively flat terrain and, presumably, uniform roughness; but variable temperature and soil moisture. The goal of this study is to run simulations at 100-meter (m) resolution using field data collected under weak stratification to develop new Large Eddy Simulation (LES) parameterizations; with anticipated improvements of 20%. The main hypothesis being tested is that the spatial structure of temperature and moisture variations will be represented in the detailed flux measurements, even over flat terrain. Results will be tested in both LES and mesoscale models. Initial experiments will be conducted for bare, dry soil conditions. The broader impacts include outreach and education activities with the public; as well as the potential to improve model parameterizations for numerical weather prediction models.