Multi-scale Atmospheric Modeling Above the Seas

The sea state is difficult to represent in atmospheric models because of the multiscale, random, and spatio-temporal-varying nature of waves. The effect of
waves on the atmosphere can therefore be more complex than that of hills and man-made infrastructure. This project investigates the effects of wave fields on both the marine atmosphere at its different scales of motion and the performance of offshore wind farms. To achieve this, we need methods to incorporate spatiotemporal varying wave fields within a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model, which has both nesting and large-eddy simulation capabilities. Most NWP models use a terrain-following coordinate system; therefore immersed boundary methods are necessary to resolve the waves’ details. We assess the impact of the wave-influenced atmosphere on wind turbine and wind farm performance, turbine wakes and their recovery, and compare such impacts with results from an atmosphere-wave coupled modeling system