Wind variation over irregularly undulating terrain (2012)

Twelve closely matched cup anemometers were distributed over a gently rolling landscape, each placed at the same height (1.1 m) above ground. Excluding any interval when any 15 min average speed was lower than 2.5 m s^-1 so as to restrict the sampling to near-neutral stratification, 15 min average wind speeds U_i (i=1...12), were binned into 8 wind direction sectors and then (again) averaged. The resulting pattern of wind variation, drawn from a total of over 1000 fifteen minute sampling intervals, was compared with a numerical model of wind variation over terrain.

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Topography of wind-sampling area from a lidar-derived Digital Elevation Map (contour interval 0.25 m). Crosses represent anemometer positions. Mean (15 min) wind directions were determined by a wind vane close to the 3rd anemometer from the south (y ≈ 60 m).
Measured and modelled wind variation over irregularly undulating terrain

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Wind variation over irregularly undulating terrain (2012)

Last Modified: 14 Sept., 2022