Real-time Plume Detection in Urban Zones Using Networked Sensing

The release of a chemical/biological/nuclear (C/B/N) agent in a city remains a viable threat. As these silent, invisible and odorless plumes can cause massive casualties that would overwhelm emergency facilities, modeling, tracking and real-time prediction of plume dispersion and lethality is central to developing a user-friendly first responder's tool for evacuating civilians and managing emergency personnel. In response to this need, the authors propose a fusion of plume detection by embedded wireless sensor networks, of both meteorological and chemical sensors, with a plume-prediction model called CT-Analyst to hindcast plume origins and project subsequent dispersion in near real-time. This paper overviews the network and algorithm development, the demonstration to be conducted on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, and the extensions of these concepts to other biological hazards such as E.Coli contaminations in drinking water supplies. INTRODUCTION One of the nation’s greatest fears is the intentional or accidental large-scale release of a chemical/biological/nuclear (C/B/N) agent in a densely populated area. The silent, invisible and Tracy Kijewski-Correa, Jeffrey Talley, Peter Bauer, Martin Haenggi, Panos Antsaklis, Michael Lemmon, J. Nicholas Laneman, Luis Montestruque, Jack Fulton, Gopal Patnaik. “Real-Time Plume Detection In Urban Zones Using Networked Sensing,” Chemical and Biological Defense Physical Science and Technology Conference (CBD PS&T), Hilton New Orleans Riverside, LA, 17-21 November 2008.