Woodfibre Evidence Explorer

Woodfibre · wind, terrain and concentrations

Illustrative release scenarios · observed air quality · forecast checks

Compare possible transport and benchmark levels under the selected conditions.

Historical release inputs over measured terrain, with assumed weather and release height. These are illustrative scenarios, not a forecast of local exposure. Calculation details

Choose a flare event

2014 design cases

Select a preset to calculate it on this map. Your wind settings stay in place.

Weather scenario Time since release began 60 min Inversion altitude 500 m above sea level

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Wind and release assumptions

Source / reference rate Low-level wind from 200° Boundary wind speed 3 m/s Release centre above source terrain 200 m

Release duration 30 min

PM removal assumption Wind above the inversion

Outflow is prescribed, not generated by cooling. Inversion restricts vertical transport; plume penetration is not calculated. Effective release height is an assumption. Historical daily masses are distributed uniformly over 30 minutes for feed-gas and compressor cases, or 14 hours for tank shutdown. Changing duration holds the rate fixed and changes total mass. Weather stays fixed through the 24-hour calculation.

Preparing the first scenario…

Map constituent Vertical view Map colours NO₂ screening: assume 100% conversion of the NOx inventory

Wind trails Show calculation cells

Trails show horizontal airflow in the selected layer, not pollutant particles. Motion is accelerated; concentration time stays fixed.

Colour bands are concentrations, not health categories. Snapshot source contribution; background pollution excluded.

Across the study area

Each row samples one reference point, not every home in that community. Select a name or any map location to inspect it. The calculation adds no background pollution; below a benchmark is not a finding of safety.

What these results can tell us about health

Air pollution can worsen coughing, wheezing and breathing difficulties. Children, older adults and people with heart or lung conditions can be more affected. Risk depends on the pollutant, concentration and how long exposure lasts. Health Canada: health effects · Who is more at risk

A benchmark flag identifies a scenario worth examining for monitoring and operating controls. It does not estimate the chance of illness. Total VOC cannot identify benzene exposure; that needs individual chemical release rates. For conditions today, use official monitoring and air-quality advice.

Inspect a community · or select the map

Model checks and source provenance

Terrain blocks transport; diagnostic winds are adjusted around and over it. This simplified flow calculation does not resolve real valley turbulence, density-driven drainage, plume heat or atmospheric chemistry. The model has not converged under grid refinement; concentration footprints can change substantially with grid size.

Historic emission inventory B.C. objectives and attainment rules

Does the forecast reproduce local winds?

Observed episodeCompare at the same reported time

Observed · circleForecast · squareArrows point where air moves; length shows speed.

One arrow scale across all episodes.

Full episode	Airport	Pam Rocks
Mean direction error
Wind vector RMSE

Direction scores require both speeds ≥ 1 m/s. Selected episodes; no seasonal or flare validation. Different dates cannot establish a model ranking. Forecasts are not used to drive the plume map.

Evidence needed for a prediction

Input or check	Current evidence gap
Current flare source	Verified tip geometry, event emissions and heat release missing
Local transport and inversion	Source-site hourly winds and vertical temperature/wind profiles missing
Community exposure	Breathing-height concentrations, chemistry and background not validated
Illustrative plume solver	Grid-refinement check failed; AERMOD reference tests do not validate this browser calculation

Forecast archive ECCC observations