An investigation of the environmental impact of an artificial thermal plume

Experimental analysis of the mean and turbulent structures of artificial thermal plumes rising in the boundary layer up into the capping stable layers is reported. Scaling parameters are used to compare the structural aspects obtained from ten experimental cases. Vertical profiles of the mean excesses (temperature and vertical velocity) and of the dissipative parameters (dissipation rate and temperature structure parameter) within the plume are given. The estimates of dissipation rate and of the horizontal width of the column are used to predict the variation of the vertical eddy diffusivity coefficient from the heat source to the top level of the plume.