AGENTS Planning a defence against chemical attacks must consider the prevailing environmental conditions on the battlefield.
When released, chemical agents are affected by the weather,
terrain and obstacles and like all weapon systems, their effects will either be increased or limited.
The defence must conduct an assessment to determine the
likelihood of an attack under the conditions and secondly determine measures which can be taken to minimise the effectiveness of the attack. WIND WIND SPEED
WIND DIRECTION
MECHANICAL TURBULENCE is the
result of the wind blowing over and around obstacles such as trees, buildings and terrain to produce eddies and currents. This effect dilutes the agent cloud. TEMPERATURE A high temperature causes removal of clothing and thus makes troops more susceptible to an attack with liquid agents. Temperature also affects persistency of liquid agents as higher temperatures reduces persistency although they also increase vapour hazards. Moderate air temperatures cause increased persistency. Extremely low temperatures will freeze and render agents harmless. A hot surface will quickly cause evaporation of liquid agents in vapour form to rise quickly. HUMIDITY
It causes perspiration and enlargement of the
skin pores allowing deeper penetration of liquids. It degrades the protective capabilities of the protective suit. It increases the susceptibility of the skin to vapour or aerosol agents. It breaks down or hydrolyses some agents into harmless substances. PRECIPITATION (RAIN) Washes the agent from the air. Flushes agents from the vegetation and soil into natural drainage such as stream beds and low lying areas, which become contaminated. Therefore drainage around field defences must be prepared so that the contamination is controlled. Hydrolyses some agents into harmless substances. Increase the water vapour in the air reducing the evaporation of liquid agents and increasing their persistency. Reduces vapour concentrations. Snow may freeze agents, rendering them into a more controllable solid state.
Clouds have no direct effect on chemical clouds, however
they may alter the temperature gradient.
Fog is the suspension of minute water droplets in the air.
Is an obstruction to vision and can be used to hide an agent cloud. Occurs when an inversion temperature gradient exist and therefore is a most favourable condition for the use of the agents. Can hydrolyse agents, but not to the same degree as rain. TERRAIN EFFECT Terrain can produce local winds which can either be an asset or a liability to a force defending against chemical agent attack. The most important effects are:
Local Thermal Winds. Caused by differential heating
between surfaces having different composition and temperature. These occur where an open area joins jungle or where land joins water. Slope Winds Up Slope Winds. During the day when a strong lapse is present the exposed slope of a large mountain will be heated. When the adjacent air layer becomes warmer than the air above, it will rised upwards along the mountain slope. Down Slope Winds. At night when inversion conditions exist, the cold air will drain down the mountain slope. Onshore and Offshore Breezes. Sea Breezes resulted from the land being heated much faster than the water by day. The air above the land rises and the cooler sea air rushes in to takes its place. This causes a wind known as a sea or onshore breeze to develop. Land or Offshore Breezes are the opposite to seabreezes. They occur at night because the land air is cooler than the air above the sea. VEGETATION EFFECTS Vegetation will trap liquid agents thereby decreasing ground concentration. Troops having to force their way through thick undergrowth sprayed with liquid agents will pick up contamination from leaves, shrubs and trees at different level. Some agent will defoliate trees over a period time. In jungle, wind speeds are low. Jungle wind are light and variable in direction. They may change direction as often as three times a minute. This will cause difficulties in determining whether to unmask or not. In sparse vegetation, the wind speed is not affected but the agent cloud tends to break up due to unpredictable winds eddies and shifts. An agent cloud will penetrate downwards in tropical grasses and will take quite some time to disperse. Questions?