Accidental or deliberate release of Chemical, Biological,
Radiological or Nuclear (CBRN) material can result in a toxic plume
that is dispersed by wind. Accurate estimate of the dispersion of
the toxic material is imperative for timely deployment of first
responders and evacuation of populations in the path of the toxic
plume. Research related to assimilating sensor data with model
forecast for accurate forecasting of plume dispersion is ongoing in
conjunction with the development of algorithms for the
characterization of sources which can help cap the source of the
release. Since the forecasting process is hobbled by inaccuracies
in sensor measurements, model errors and errors in estimates of the
wind field, a second project related to characterizing and
propagating uncertainties through the dynamic system is currently
being studied.
