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Nocturnal wind maximum mapped for first time

Date:
December 20, 2009
Source:
NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research)
Summary:
On beautiful, sunny days with quiet weather conditions a strong wind develops in the evening at a height of about 200 meters. Scientists have now mapped how such a powerful wind develops high in the air.
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On beautiful, sunny days with quiet weather conditions a strong wind develops in the evening at a height of about 200 metres. Peter Baas is the first to map how such a powerful wind develops high in the air. With his research he has made an important contribution to the improvement of weather and climate models. Knowledge of these air currents is also important for the aviation sector and the generation of wind energy.

During the evening the wind near the ground often dies down, in contrast to the wind several hundred metres above the ground that strongly increases at this time. This is because cooled air just above the Earth's surface remains hanging under warmer air above. The wind speed at an altitude of several hundred metres is strongly dependent on how the cool and warm air mix. The mixing stops during the night and a stable boundary layer develops. On the upper side of this layer the wind speed can rapidly increase. Peter Baas investigated how cold air and higher layers of warm air mix.

The researcher analysed the maximum wind speed at night using the measurements from the 200 m high KNMI measurement mast in Cabauw. Furthermore, he tested the processes that play a role in the development of the nocturnal wind maximum and showed how the mixing of air layers must be represented in models to predict nocturnal wind speeds.

The research of Peter Baas was part of the project Land Surface Climate and the Role of the Stable Boundary Layer PART 2. This project took place within the NWO theme Sustainable Earth and the research of Baas was funded by NWO.


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Materials provided by NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research). Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research). "Nocturnal wind maximum mapped for first time." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 20 December 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091215160853.htm>.
NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research). (2009, December 20). Nocturnal wind maximum mapped for first time. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 29, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091215160853.htm
NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research). "Nocturnal wind maximum mapped for first time." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091215160853.htm (accessed March 29, 2024).

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