Operation Enduring Freedom

Objective

During U.S. military operations in Afghanistan in 2001, NCAR provided the National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC) with mesoscale model products that were used to calculate the potential atmospheric transport and diffusion (T&D) of hazardous material.

Description

NCAR operated an MM5-based, rapidly relocatable, nested mesoscale data-assimilation and forecast system for NGIC, that provided analyses and forecasts of winds on a variety of scales, from the area of the entire country down to the scale of metropolitan areas. During the period of support, the model fine grids were moved depending on the area where the potential threat needed to be assessed. NGIC used the winds and boundary-layer properties produced by MM5 as input to the Second-Order Closure Integrated PUFF model, a DOD T&D model. The complex orography of the area, and the extreme thermal environment, created a challenging analysis and forecast problem.