Original scientific paper
NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF THE CLIMATOLOGY OF WINDS IN THE COMPLEX TERRAIN OF ICELAND
Ólafur Rögnvaldsson
; University of Bergen, Norway, Institute for Meteorological Research, Iceland, Icelandic Meteorological Office, Bústaðavegur 9, IS-150, Iceland
Haraldur Ólafsson
; Institute for Meteorological Research, Iceland, Icelandic Meteorological Office, Bústaðavegur 9, IS-150, Iceland, University of Iceland, Iceland
Abstract
Flow over Iceland has been simulated over a fifteen year period using the PSU/NCAR MM5 mesoscale model. There is a
considerable spatial variability in the mean annual wind speed as well as temporal variability between the four seasons (SON, DJF, MAM and JJA). This variability can to a large extent be explained by a combination of large scale seasonal effects and orographic processes that are theoretically fairly well known. However, theoretical knowledge of these processes is of limited use for producing
quantitative maps of the wind climate as is done here. These maps can be used as a first step towards assessment of wind energy
resources.
The simulations indicate that the mean winds are very strong over the largest glaciers and at their foothills. The simulations are in
general in fairly good agreement with observed wind speeds. Observed discrepancies can be explained by the model resolution, i.e.
the orography not being properly resolved and/or incorrect land use parameters as well as uncertainties in observations and sub-grid
effects at individual observation sites.
Keywords
Wind climate; wind mapping; wind energy assessment; Iceland; numerical simulations; MM5
Hrčak ID:
64939
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2005.
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