CT-Analyst: NRL's contaminant modeling software supports presidential inauguration

WASHINGTON, D.C – Hundreds of thousands of people will descend on Washington, D.C., for the 47th Presidential Inauguration on Jan. 20. Keeping the crowds safe is a top priority for first responders and security personnel.

“If something is released into the air, whether nefarious, industrial or an accident, first responders need to know where it's going to travel, how fast it's going, how much of it's going to reach certain locations, what the potential lethality is, what the concentration levels might be, and more, so they can use that information to make operational decisions,” said Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Computer Scientist Adam Moses.

Moses and his team built a 3D computer-simulated mapping and modeling program called Contaminant Transport Analyst, or CT-Analyst®, that predicts the shape and direction of a plume from the release of chemical, biological, and radioactive substances.

The program integrates with other readily available applications to help first responders quickly and accurately plan for response coordination, a key priority in a densely populated metropolis like D.C. This is the fifth presidential inauguration for the software program. CT-Analyst® has also supported security for Super Bowls, the Academy Awards, Oscars, Grammys and other national special security events.

“First responders and security personnel can get Contaminant Transport questions answered fast and include the complex 3D geometry, current wind strengths and directions,” said NRL Chief Scientist for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics Jay Boris, Ph.D. “CT-Analyst is easy to use with minimal training and greatly reduces the chance of mistakes.”

Moses said the program aims to be the fastest, most-accurate hazardous airborne plume modeling tool available to both military and civilian first-responders.

“The program performs best on urban environments at city-sized scales,” he said. “The software’s highly accurate 3D models detail how plumes spread over water, in open spaces, down large city avenues and intersections, spreading among the tall buildings and even through trees.”

The results are easily calculated, can be edited quickly as the situation changes, and are color-coded based on heavily impacted locations. The software is designed so users can simply click the source on a map and drag it anywhere in real time.

“The most relevant feature to first responders is the speed at which results are produced,” Moses said. “While there are a lot of tools that can do this kind of modeling, they need to know everything in advance.They need to characterize all the details and then run the simulation which can take precious time especially in especially at large scales like a city.”

“You don't have two minutes to waste, let alone an hour or more,” he added.

Following the events of September 11th in particular, Moses said his team leveraged their physics modeling of fluids, detonations, and things like that to build a computer program that models hazmat airflow through cities. 

Typically, the software is running in operations centers right alongside the hazmat teams and the fire teams who have chemical sensors deployed all around the city. If a report comes in of a possible explosive, or smoke, or even a backpack left unattended, planners can use the software to input a location and immediately get a plume model.

During the inauguration on Jan. 20, Moses will be embedded with an emergency response team at the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment.

Collaborative Software Integration

Because CT-Analyst® is a standalone piece of software, it can interact with other applications – either online or locally on the same computer. One key advantage is it doesn’t require stable connectivity to operate.

“We wanted a piece of software that doesn't need the internet to work but gets better with the internet,” Moses said. “Without the web, you can still calculate plumes. If you add web-based tools into the program, you can suddenly integrate weather information and other sensor information.”

Moses said CT-Analyst® doesn’t require expert knowledge of 3D modeling or hazard plume prediction mechanics. His team works to ensure the software can seamlessly integrate with other software first responders are using.

“People are already used to using these large common operating pictures like Google Earth,” he said. “They are familiar with the tools and are usually already using them for response operations.”

CT-Analyst® can also integrate with other applications like ArcGIS, a mapping solution for geographic information specialists, and TAK, the Tactical Awareness Kit, that are already being used by civilian, Defense Department and Homeland Security groups.

CT-Analyst® also produces information about the effects of dangerous chemicals on people. It uses a rating system called Protective Action Criteria (PAC) values that give quick information on health consequences while inside a plume, from no effects whatsoever to severe incapacitation.

“Planners can combine the plume results with the PAC value to help determine where to send medical resources and set up triage locations,” Moses added.

The technology transfer of CT-Analyst® is being used by first responders at the federal, state, local, and international levels including the city of Los Angeles, the city of Hamburg in Germany, country-wide in Kuwait, and the city of Oslo in Norway.

“We are continuously developing the program,” Moses said. “NRL Tech Transfer works to find research and licensing partnerships to add more breakthrough capabilities.”

The tool has earned much recognition from industry leaders on its reliability and immediate results and was awarded the 2016 Excellence in Technology Transfer Award honoring innovation in technology transfer by the Mid-Atlantic Region Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC).

A new video about CT-Analyst® is in production. Stay tuned to learn more about the software and its interoperability.

About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL is located in Washington, D.C. with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi; Key West, Florida; Monterey, California, and employs approximately 3,000 civilian scientists, engineers and support personnel.

For more information, contact NRL Corporate Communications at (202) 480-3746 or nrlpao@us.navy.mil. Please reference package number at top of press release.

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