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.

Objectives:

1) To incorporate spatio-temporal varying wave fields in a numerical weather prediction model, which has the ability of performing multi-scale simulations.

2) To assess the impact of spatio-temporal varying wave fields on meteorological variables, such as the three-dimensional wind field.

3) To assess the impact of spatio-temporal varying wave fields on wind farm performance and on the characteristics of wakes of wind turbines.

Expected outcome:

1) To determine the effects and implications of spatio-temporal varying wave fields in the marine atmosphere at its different scales of motion.

2) To determine how we can perform multi-scale numerical simulations ac-counting for spatio-temporal varying wave fields.

3) To find out what are the effects of spatio-temporal varying wave fields on the performance of offshore wind turbines and wind farms.