Vaisala has collaborated with WindSim on a study that demonstrates how the effects of complex terrain on wind measurements collected by remote sensing units can be mitigated.
Vaisala's complex terrain validation study spanned 20 individual sites, each with a collocated Triton Wind Profiler and met mast, collecting simultaneous measurements for a period of 1-4 months. These sites were distributed across the globe and exhibited a variety of local terrain complexity. Using publicly available elevation and land cover data, WindSim configured CFD simulation domains surrounding each collocation site and conducted simulations for a variety of inflow conditions. From these simulations, Vaisala developed correction factors to account for wind flow curvature, for each measurement height and wind direction sector. By applying these CFD-based corrections to Triton data, Vaisala found a reduction in the mean wind speed difference between the Tritons and met towers - from -1.7% to -0.1% - and in the standard deviation - from 2.5% to 2.1%.
