Abstract
A 27-year-long calibrated multi-mission scatterometer data set is used to determine the global basin-scale and near-coastal wind resource. In addition to mean and percentile values, the analysis also determines the global values of both 50- and 100-year return period wind speeds. The analysis clearly shows the seasonal variability of wind speeds and the differing response of the two hemispheres. The maximum wind speeds in each hemisphere are comparable but there is a much larger seasonal cycle in the northern hemisphere. As a result, the southern hemisphere has a more consistent year-round wind climate. Hence, coastal regions of southern Africa, southern Australia, New Zealand and southern South America appear particularly suited to coastal and offshore wind energy projects. The extreme value analysis shows that the highest extreme wind speeds occur in the North Atlantic Ocean with extreme wind regions concentrated along the western boundaries of the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans and the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean. The signature of tropical cyclones is clearly observed in each of the well-known tropical cyclone basins.
Highlights
The determination of the global offshore wind energy resource and the design and operation of coastal and offshore wind energy projects require long-term measurements of wind conditions
The advent of long-term databases of multiple-mission satellite data for altimeter [4,5,6], radiometer [7] and scatterometer [8] provides the opportunity to examine both the climatology and extreme value global distribution of wind speed. Each of these satellite systems has similar error statistics [9], the sampling pattern of altimeters and the degradation of radiometer measurements in heavy rain mean that scatterometers are the preferred instrument for the measurement of global-scale wind speed
These short centimetre-scale waves respond almost instantaneously to the local wind and the Bragg scattering provides a means of indirectly sensing the wind speed
Summary
The determination of the global offshore wind energy resource and the design and operation of coastal and offshore wind energy projects require long-term measurements of wind conditions. Anemometer records obviously provide a direct measurement at the location of interest, but they are limited to specific areas and long-term records are seldom available at locations of interest. Satellite systems such as altimeters, radiometers and scatterometers have the advantage that they provide global coverage and the data record for each of these systems is approximately 30 years. The advent of long-term databases of multiple-mission satellite data for altimeter [4,5,6], radiometer [7] and scatterometer [8] provides the opportunity to examine both the climatology and extreme value global distribution of wind speed. Each of these satellite systems has similar error statistics [9], the sampling pattern of altimeters and the degradation of radiometer measurements in heavy rain mean that scatterometers are the preferred instrument for the measurement of global-scale wind speed
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