LOCAL WIND SOURCES

Part A
Module 1 Wind Energy

LOCAL WIND SOURCES

Representative situations broken down into two broad categories:
Winds modified by local topological features
Rain shadow wind (e.g. Foehn, Chinook)
Amplification (e.g. Mistral)
Thermally driven fluid motion on a local scale
Sea-land breezes
Mountain top mountain valley winds
[Katabatic winds]

RAIN SHADOW WIND (FOEHN WIND)

Air flow over mountain
Air with lots of moisture cools
as it rises
Moisture condenses out,
precipitation occurs
Dense dry cold air flow down
leeward slope
Temperature rises faster for
dry air than temperature of
dry air fell
Result is dry warm wind

"Foehn1"

CHINOOK WIND (CANADIAN PRAIRIES)

Rocky Mountains
West to east wind
Dense dry air flows
down lee side of
mountain.
Here 3353m
decrease in altitude
results in 33.5 oC air
temperature rise
"Chinook wind" by Dhaluza

AMPLIFIED WIND
Mistral
Northwesterly wind that
blows through southern
France into the Gulf of Lyon
Example: Average speeds of
50 km/hr during one day in
November 2008
Carte du mistral" by Vi..Cult

MISTRAL (CONTD)
Cold air from north
Complex flow
channeled through
Rhone Valley between
mountains
Highest speeds south
of choke point

H
L

Locator Map for Mistral, US NRL

SOLAR DRIVEN LOCAL WINDS

Wind currents established by uneven solar heating (or cooling)
of local surfaces
Examples:
Sea and land breezes
Mountain top mountain valley wind
Katabatic wind

SEA AND LAND BREEZES

Sun on green grass

Sun on water

DAYTIME SEA BREEZE

Solar radiation heats
land faster than sea
Air over land rises
Rising air cools and sinks
over cooler sea
Sea breeze created as
cool air flows to replace
rising air on land

NIGHT LAND BREEZE

Land cools faster than
sea
Air over sea rises
Rising air cools and sinks
over cooler land
Land breeze created as
cool air flows to replace
rising air on sea

MOUNTAIN TOP DAYTIME

Upper slopes heated by
the sun
Adjacent air begins to rise
Cool air from the valley
floor moves up to replace
the rising air
Solar driven wind up the
mountain

MOUNTAIN TOP NIGHT

Upper slopes cool rapidly
Adjacent air begins to
sink
Cool air flows down into
the valley floor
Wind flow down the
mountain

KATABATIC WINDS
to flow downhill
Air cooled by passing over
Antarctic Ice Sheet
Air over ocean warmer (L)
than air over ice (H)
Pressure difference drive
flow towards ocean
Dense cold air sinks as it
moves downslope
Combined effects create
quite high wind speeds

Katabatic-wind hg" by Hannes Grobe

LOCAL WIND SOURCES SUMMARY

Local topological features can strongly influence global winds and lead to
creation of local winds.
Two broad categories, each with representative situations:
Global winds modified by local topological features
Rain shadow wind (e.g. Foehn, Chinook)
Amplification (e.g. Mistral)
Thermally driven (heating or cooling) fluid motion on a local scale
Sea-land breezes
Mountain top mountain valley winds
[Katabatic winds]

PHOTO CREDITS

"Foehn1". Via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Foehn1.png#mediaviewer/File:Foehn1.png

"Chinook wind" by Original uploader was Dhaluza at en.wikipedia - Transfered from en.wikipedia. Licensed under Public
domain via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinook_wind.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Chinook_wind.jpg
"Carte du mistral" by Vi..Cult... - Donnes mtorologiques du 13 novembre 2008 midi (carte de France sur Commons.).
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carte_du_mistral.png#mediaviewer/File:Carte_du_mistral.png
Locator map for Mistral, US Naval Research Laboratory,
http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/sat_training/world_wind_regimes/mistral/images/Untitled-2.locatemistral.jpg
"Katabatic-wind hg" by Hannes Grobe, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Katabatic-wind_hg.png#mediaviewer/File:Katabatic-wind_hg.png