Modern and Rapid Dispersion Calculations for Disaster Protection
The German Meteorological Service plays a central role in disaster protection. In addition to weather forecasts and warnings, one of its most critical tasks is to conduct dispersion calculations. When hazardous substances are released during fires, chemical incidents, or reactor accidents, they pose a threat to both emergency services and the population. By using dispersion calculations based on current weather forecasts, the spread of (hazardous) substances in the atmosphere can be predicted, enabling emergency operations and evacuations to be planned accordingly. Natural events like volcanic eruptions also require dispersion calculations to assess the impact on air traffic.
A Centralized Application for Various Scenarios at the German Meteorological Service
Different scenarios require specific approaches to dispersion calculations. In cases of fires with hazardous substance releases, rapid response times are crucial, and the accuracy of the calculation must be balanced with the duration of the calculation. A smaller area (50 to 200 km) can be considered for the calculations, but a higher resolution of the calculation is required. In contrast, for volcanic eruptions, there is more time available, but the calculations must cover entire continents.
Previously, the German Meteorological Service used different applications for each scenario. One of the main goals was to unify these systems and facilitate the integration of new dispersion models.
Intuitive, Unified, and Flexible Creation of Dispersion Calculations
In close collaboration with the German Meteorological Service, Accso developed a modern, web-based application for conducting dispersion calculations. Emphasis was placed on UX design to ensure ease of use for operators and to identify errors early on, ideally before the calculation begins. The new application allows for various types of dispersion calculations with different requirements to be performed within a single, unified user interface.
“New calculation models can be flexibly integrated into the emergency spread calculation so that newer, more advanced forecast models can be quickly tested and also made available to end users."Dr. Rüdiger GrammesPrincipal Accso
Faster Calculation Times and More Accurate Predictions in Emergencies
With the introduction of the emergency dispersion calculation, the calculation time for the first application and the dispersion calculations for fires was reduced from over fifteen minutes to under two minutes. The new application also supports a much broader range of materials, which can be flexibly expanded. By separating the calculation process from visualization, the display of results can be adjusted without the need for recalculation.
