Wind shear

About: Wind shear is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 8023 publications have been published within this topic receiving 185373 citations.

Measurements and Modelling of the Wind Speed Profile in the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Abstract: We present measurements from 2006 of the marine wind speed profile at a site located 18 km from the west coast of Denmark in the North Sea. Measurements from mast-mounted cup anemometers up to a height of 45 m are extended to 161 m using LiDAR observations. Atmospheric turbulent flux measurements performed in 2004 with a sonic anemometer are compared to a bulk Richardson number formulation of the atmospheric stability. This is used to classify the LiDAR/cup wind speed profiles into atmospheric stability classes. The observations are compared to a simplified model for the wind speed profile that accounts for the effect of the boundary-layer height. For unstable and neutral atmospheric conditions the boundary-layer height could be neglected, whereas for stable conditions it is comparable to the measuring heights and therefore essential to include. It is interesting to note that, although it is derived from a different physical approach, the simplified wind speed profile conforms to the traditional expressions of the surface layer when the effect of the boundary-layer height is neglected.

Interaction of gravity waves with the QBO: A satellite perspective

Abstract: One of the most important dynamical processes in the tropical stratosphere is the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) of the zonal wind. Still, the QBO is not well represented in weather and climate models. To improve the representation of the QBO in the models, a better understanding of the driving of the QBO by atmospheric waves is required. In particular, the contribution of gravity waves is highly uncertain because of the small horizontal scales involved, and there is still no direct estimation based on global observations. We derive gravity wave momentum fluxes from temperature observations of the satellite instruments HIRDLS and SABER. Momentum flux spectra observed show that particularly gravity waves with intrinsic phase speeds <30m/s (vertical wavelengths <10km) interact with the QBO. Gravity wave drag is estimated from vertical gradients of observed momentum fluxes and compared to the missing drag in the tropical momentum budget of ERA-Interim. We find reasonably good agreement between their variations with time and in their approximate magnitudes. Absolute values of observed and ERA-Interim missing drag are about equal during QBO eastward wind shear. During westward wind shear, however, observations are about 2 times lower than ERA-Interim missing drag. This could hint at uncertainties in the advection terms in ERA-Interim. The strong intermittency of gravity waves we find in the tropics might play an important role for the formation of the QBO and may have important implications for the parameterization of gravity waves in global models.

Tropical Cyclone Simulation and Response to CO2 Doubling in the GFDL CM2.5 High-Resolution Coupled Climate Model

Abstract: Global tropical cyclone (TC) activity is simulated by the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) Climate Model, version 2.5 (CM2.5), which is a fully coupled global climate model with a horizontal resolution of about 50 km for the atmosphere and 25 km for the ocean. The present climate simulation shows a fairly realistic global TC frequency, seasonal cycle, and geographical distribution. The model has some notable biases in regional TC activity, including simulating too few TCs in the North Atlantic. The regional biases in TC activity are associated with simulation biases in the large-scale environment such as sea surface temperature, vertical wind shear, and vertical velocity. Despite these biases, the model simulates the large-scale variations of TC activity induced by El Nino–Southern Oscillation fairly realistically. The response of TC activity in the model to global warming is investigated by comparing the present climate with a CO2 doubling experiment. Globally, TC frequency decreases ...

Offshore Wind Turbine Wakes Measured by Sodar

Abstract: A ship-mounted sodar was used to measure wind turbine wakes in an offshore wind farm in Denmark. The wake magnitude and vertical extent were determined by measuring the wind speed profile behind an operating turbine, then shutting down the turbine and measuring the freestream wind profile. These measurements were compared with meteorological measurements on two offshore and one coastal mast at the same site. The main purposes of the experiment were to evaluate the utility of sodar for determining wind speed profiles offshore and to provide the first offshore wake measurements with varying distance from a wind turbine. Over the course of a week, 36 experiments were conducted in total. After quality control of the data (mainly to exclude rain periods), 13 turbine-on, turbine-off pairs were analyzed to provide the velocity deficit at hub height as a function of the distance from the turbine. The results are presented in the context of wake measurements at other coastal locations. The velocity defici...