Mountain Locations Research Articles

Food Production in Ergonomically Designed Unit with Low Energy Consuming Thick Film Hot Plate

The Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh is a cold desert where the temperature drops as low as -45°C, which makes the cultivation of fresh food almost impossible. The region is strategically very important as it borders two countries China and Pakistan. The unavailability of fresh food causes nutritional deficiency in the deployed troops and locals, affecting their performance. Cultivation of fresh food is very difficult due to the average low temperature and mountainous soil of the region. Transportation of fresh food to such forward locations causes decaying of nutrition besides the difficulty of reaching such snow-bound mountainous locations. Nutritious micro-greens grown in media under controlled conditions look perfect solutions for meeting nutritional requirements. The present study focuses on year-round cultivation of nutritious micro-green (2-3 times more nutritious than mature counterparts) with low energy consuming thick-film hot plate for necessary temperature maintenance in properly designed portable structures to reduce dependency on packaged food which are the causes of many diseases. The study involves the development of a thick film energy-efficient micro-climate maintenance technology-based system for the maintenance of temperature along with phase-wise development of suitable cultivation structure and standardization of the number of such plates and sizing of the portable unit.These hotplates produce heat based on the principle of Joule heating or resistive heating and the power of a hotplate is equal to I2R. The hotplates are capable of raising the surface temperature to 90°C –100°C at the expense of only 8W power consumption and maintenance of average temperature in the range of 18°C to 20°C at -25°C to -40°C outside ambient temperature. The region receives the highest solar irradiance along with annual average of 7-8 hours of sunshine duration and hence a solar-based technology can fulfill the energy supply of 8W with ease.The study revealed that a suitable temperature can be maintained for growing variety of nutritious micro-green in a triple layer-based multitier structure integrated with low energy consuming (~8 W), small (50.8 mm (x) 50.8 mm), efficient, and lightweight thick film technology.Thick-film hot plate integrated standardized unit is capable of producing an average of 1000grams/trial/unit in a short period of 8-12 days during the winter period of 6-8 months for the targeted supply of 8-10grams/person/day with total energy consumption of approximately 20-25Kw/trial at ~3350 m to ~5400 m Altitude.

Measuring and optimizing the spatial accessibility of primary health care in remote and rural areas: a case study of Liannan Yao Autonomous County in China

The need for equitable access to primary healthcare services in the current global context has attracted widespread attention, prompting nations to continuously enhance their grassroots medical service levels. In response, China launched the "Healthy China" initiative, which prioritizes the enhancement of national health as a core goal of the healthcare system and uses this opportunity to deepen reforms aimed at strengthening primary care. However, in remote and rural areas, the optimization of medical resource allocation and the achievement of balanced service development remain critical challenges owing to limited resources. This study selected Liannan Yao Autonomous County, which is situated in the northwestern corner of Guangdong Province, as a case study due to its remote mountainous location, underdeveloped economy, and minority region characteristics. Through field research and interviews, this study thoroughly explored the needs of both supply and demand, factoring in elements such as the service capability of healthcare facilities and residents' travel thresholds to enhance the two-step floating catchment area model, thus making it more applicable to remote villages. By integrating electric bikes and cars, which are the primary means of transportation in rural areas, this study conducted a thorough analysis and comparison of the accessibility of medical services in Liannan Yao Autonomous County (Liannan County) . The results reveal significant disparities in healthcare accessibility, an uneven distribution of medical resources, and varying impacts of transportation conditions and facility service capabilities on accessibility. Notably, the study revealed that improving transportation conditions alone has limited effects in rural areas; the key lies in balancing medical service capabilities and the rationality of overall layouts. From the perspectives of equity and efficiency, this study employs the equitable coverage model and the efficiency-driven model to construct two scenarios, comparing accessibility changes in Liannan County under both conditions and proposing strategies to improve the spatial layout of local healthcare facilities. This research not only deepens the understanding of healthcare service accessibility in rural areas but also provides a scientific basis for optimizing resource allocation and enhancing primary medical services, offering valuable guidance and reference for Liannan County and other similar rural regions.

Nature-based winter sports and their ephemeral tracks: interspecies (non-)encounters in snow

Nature-based winter sports are often framed as a solution to the tension between people’s desire for pristine snowy landscapes and their effects on that environment. Low-impact activities such as ski touring and cross-country skiing allow outdoor enthusiasts to visit remote and mountainous locations without the need for hard infrastructure of ski resorts, leaving no permanent marks in the landscape. Yet their growing popularity raises a dilemma about negative effects, especially on wildlife conservation areas. We use the tracks and traces left behind by people as well as animals in Northern Europe and the Alps as a nexus through which to explore how humans and non-humans interact, ignore or avoid each other. Often imagined as ephemeral activities, we argue that the cumulative impacts of nature-based winter sports have significant consequences for wildlife and the way we aim to protect it long after its traces in the snow have disappeared.

Investigating the Potential of Using Mixdown Altitudes to Forecast Peak Wind Gusts

Abstract Forecast models based on the gust factor, the ratio of peak gust to sustained wind speed, have shown promise in predicting peak wind gusts in recent years. These models assume that turbulent vertical transport forced by wind flowing over upstream terrain mixes high-momentum air aloft down to the surface. A recently constructed database of hourly peak gusts, together with approximately coincident, nearby upper-air wind observations, is used to identify mixdown altitudes, the altitudes from which peak gusts descend, during different weather scenarios at 16 locations across the United States. Median mixdown altitudes generally ranged from 50 to 450 m AGL with occasional exceptions, particularly for convective gusts and at mountainous locations where terrain effects are likely to amplify gusts. A mixdown model in which surface peak gusts are predicted by obtaining forecast upper-air winds within this altitude interval was developed and tested. Our results suggest that a mixdown model methodology for forecasting peak gusts may be feasible at locations and during weather conditions where terrain-forced turbulent mixing is the principal cause of wind gusts.

Are Atmospheric Models Too Cold in the Mountains? The State of Science and Insights from the SAIL Field Campaign

Abstract Mountains play an outsized role in water resource availability, and the amount and timing of water they provide depend strongly on temperature. To that end, we ask the question: How well are atmospheric models capturing mountain temperatures? We synthesize results showing that high-resolution, regionally relevant climate models produce 2-m air temperature (T2m) measurements colder than what is observed (a “cold bias”), particularly in snow-covered midlatitude mountain ranges during winter. We find common cold biases in 44 studies across global mountain ranges, including single-model and multimodel ensembles. We explore the factors driving these biases and examine the physical mechanisms, data limitations, and observational uncertainties behind T2m. Our analysis suggests that the biases are genuine and not due to observation sparsity or resolution mismatches. Cold biases occur primarily on mountain peaks and ridges, whereas valleys are often warm biased. Our literature review suggests that increasing model resolution does not clearly mitigate the bias. By analyzing data from the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) field campaign in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, we test various hypotheses related to cold biases and find that local wind circulations, longwave (LW) radiation, and surface-layer parameterizations contribute to the T2m biases in this particular location. We conclude by emphasizing the value of coordinated model evaluation and development efforts in heavily instrumented mountain locations for addressing the root cause(s) of T2m biases and improving predictive understanding of mountain climates.

Enduring the Earthquake: Rediscovery of the Critically Endangered Mesilau Stream Toad, Ansonia guibei Inger, 1966 (Anura, Bufonidae) and its conservation implications

The Mesilau Stream Toad (Ansonia guibei) is a species of bufonid endemic to Sabah, Borneo, and restricted to a single mountainous location above 1600m in elevation. The species is only known from the type locality, the Mesilau watershed on Mount Kinabalu. An earthquake in 2015 resulted in massive landslides, causing extensive damage to the species’ habitat at Mesilau. This event was expected to have caused significant population declines of at least 80% or even the potential extinction of the species. A survey in 2017 at Mesilau failed to locate any individuals, which resulted in it being listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Surveys in late 2023 to reassess the status of the species and its habitat resulted in the rediscovery of a single subadult specimen of A. guibei. Tadpoles of the species were recorded in the main Mesilau River and one additional tributary, which indicates the species survives and is breeding. Studies are ongoing to collect more ecological data on the species and determine its current distribution. The data gathered will be used to construct a robust conservation plan for the species. Nevertheless, these preliminary observations bode well for the future of the species as it demonstrates that it is resilient and capable of recovering from the damages caused by the earthquake.

Diverse Characteristics of Extreme Orographic Snowfall Events in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

Abstract Heavy orographic snowfall can disrupt transportation and threaten lives and property in mountainous regions but benefits water resources, winter sports, and tourism. Little Cottonwood Canyon (LCC) in northern Utah’s Wasatch Range is one of the snowiest locations in the interior western United States and frequently observes orographic snowfall extremes with threats to transportation, structures, and public safety due to storm-related avalanche hazards. Using manual new-snow and liquid precipitation equivalent (LPE) observations, ERA5 reanalyses, and operational radar data, this paper examines the characteristics of cool-season (October–April) 12-h snowfall extremes in upper LCC. The 12-h extremes, defined based on either 95th percentile new snow or LPE, occur for a wide range of crest-level flow directions. The distribution of LPE extremes is bimodal with maxima for south-southwest or north-northwest flow, whereas new-snow extremes occur most frequently during west-northwest flow, which features colder storms with higher snow-to-liquid ratios. Both snowfall and LPE extremes are produced by diverse synoptic patterns, including inland-penetrating or decaying atmospheric rivers from the south through northwest that avoid the southern high Sierra Nevada, frontal systems, post-cold-frontal northwesterly flow, south-southwesterly cold-core flow, and closed low pressure systems. Although often associated with heavy precipitation in other mountainous regions, the linkages between local integrated water vapor transport (IVT) and orographic precipitation extremes in LCC are relatively weak, and during post-cold-frontal northwesterly flow, highly localized and intense snowfall can occur despite low IVT. These results illustrate the remarkable diversity of storm characteristics producing orographic snowfall extremes at this interior continental mountain location. Significance Statement Little Cottonwood Canyon in northern Utah’s central Wasatch Range frequently experiences extreme snowfall events that pose threats to lives and property. In this study, we illustrate the large diversity of storm characteristics that produce this extreme snowfall. Meteorologists commonly use the amount of water vapor transport in the atmosphere to predict heavy mountain precipitation, but that metric has limited utility in Little Cottonwood Canyon where heavy snowfall can occur with lower values of such transport. Our results can aid weather forecasting in the central Wasatch Range and have implications for understanding precipitation processes in mountain ranges throughout the world.

Spatial Inhomogeneity of Synoptic‐Induced Precipitation in a Region of Steep Topographic Relief: A Case Study

AbstractThe topography plays an essential role in the initiation and development of precipitating clouds, therefore has a profound effect on the ultimate spatial distribution of precipitation. This study investigates the fine‐scale characteristics of a synoptic‐induced precipitation event in Southwest China, a region characterized by a sequence of steep mountains aligned roughly north‐south. The convection‐permitting simulation successfully reproduces the observed rainband induced by a synoptic‐scale shear line. The spatial distribution of accumulated precipitation over three small‐scale mountains (named M1, M2, and M3 from east to west) exhibits distinct inhomogeneity. The accumulated precipitation is significantly enhanced on the western slope of M1, the high‐altitude area of M2, and the eastern slope of M3. The low‐level vortex generated on the western slope of M1, as well as the convergence established over M2 and the eastern slope of M3, dynamically contributes to the enhanced precipitation over the various mountain locations. As the highest of the three mountains, M2 exhibits pronounced blocking effects on the mesoscale circulations. Additional sensitivity experiment demonstrates that the mesoscale circulations and corresponding precipitation are sensitive to the highest elevation in the continuous mountains. The rainfall accumulation over M2 (M3) could decrease (increase) by 54.3% (63.4%), when the terrain of M2 is reduced to the comparable height of surrounding mountains. With more upslope wind flowing over M2, the convergence over M3 is strengthened. The more intense upward motion and stronger potential instability both contribute to the notable increase of precipitation over M3. This study implies the possible mechanisms of the inhomogeneous precipitation over Southwest China and could deepen the current understanding of the topographic effects on precipitation over complex terrains.

Socioeconomic determinants of income loss during COVID-19 in a mountainous area in Vietnam

ABSTRACT Identifying vulnerable socioeconomic groups enables policymakers to design relevant intervention strategies and garner the support necessary to implement them. Previous studies indicate that COVID-19 contributed to widening socioeconomic inequalities, but a gap remains in understanding the impacts of the pandemic on ethnic groups in mountainous areas in Vietnam. We conducted interviews and applied logistic regression methods to analyse the relationships between socioeconomic factors and the likelihood of losing income due to the pandemic. We found that Indigenous people, communes, jobholders with more physical contact at work, groups that include more boys, and smaller residential landholders were more likely to suffer from COVID-19-related income loss. The findings of this study enable the Vietnamese Government and practitioners to better understand the impacts of COVID-19 on households in mountainous areas. This study may guide the government toward developing policies for reducing the impact of similar pandemics on those groups in mountainous locations.

Novel applications of various neural network models for prediction of photovoltaic system power under outdoor condition of mountainous region

The geography and landscape of mountainous locations are frequently varied, which causes uneven solar radiation exposure in different places which leads to photovoltaic (PV) power generation variation drastically. Therefore accurate PV power prediction is essential for industries in optimize energy production, Energy Planning and Grid Integration, Energy Storage Integration in such diverse conditions. This study aims to predict the power produced by a 2.680 kWp PV under outdoor condition in mountainous region at different time intervals of 10 seconds, 1 minute, 30 minutes, 1 hour and 1 day using different data analytics models. The results show that the radial basis neural network was the most effective model for the intervals of 10 seconds, 1 minute, 30 minutes, and 1 day. Its RMSE was 19.11 W for the 10-second interval, 22.83 W for the 1-minute interval, 25.94 W for the 30-minute interval, and 9.08 W for the 1-day interval. With an RMSE of 23.22 W, the Kernel Ridge Regressor had the best performance for the 1-hour period. This suggests that the model with only two parameters such as temperature and irradiance predict PV power more accurately. The findings can be applied to improve PV system design and performance by precisely forecasting the systems' power output in different weather scenarios.

Geared Linkage driven by Linear Actuator used for PV Platform Azimuth Orientation

. To gain more solar energy the photovoltaic converter must be tracked relatively to the sun movement. The majority of the tracking systems use complicated and costly rotating mechanisms to build large angular strokes. This paper presents a new type of geared linkage composed of a triangular linkage fitted with a planetary gear pair able to reach high angular strokes. This linkage is used as basic mechanism for the azimuth tracking of a photovoltaic platform. The kinematic synthesis of the linkage shows that the azimuth angular stroke increases with the planetary gear internal ratio |i0|. The linkage is further implemented for an azimuth mono-axial tracked PV module located in a mountain location (case study - Brasov, Romania). Through numerical simulations, the amount of direct solar radiation on the PV module and the tracking efficiency are evaluated.

PREVALENCE AND EFFECTS OF PROGRESSIVE OSTEOARTHRITIS ON SEX STEROIDS IN MALE AND FEMALE PATIENTS OF DISTRICT BUNER, KPK PAKISTAN

Osteoarthritis is a major cause of disability in older people; pain is considered one of the most important signs of osteoarthritis, which normally affects the weight-bearing joint, especially the knee joint. The objective of the present study was to find out the prevalence and effects of progressive Osteoarthritis (OA) on sex steroids in male patients of district Buner KP, Pakistan. Data was collected from 294 OA patients (Male, 46.18%; Female, 54.76%) at different hospitals through questionnaires, face-to-face interviews and blood sampling in district Buner. Results showed that the 50 to 60-year age group was mostly affected by OA (29.81%). In the case of females, OA was common in the plain areas, while male patients were in hilly areas. Among 294 patients, housewives (23.46%) and agriculture (18.7%) are more affected by Osteoarthritis. Blood samples were collected from 18 male patients of different age groups and analysed through the ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent Assay) Test. The results obtained from ELISA showed that most of the OA patients have normal testosterone levels, but the two age groups, i.e., 50 to 60 and 60 to 70, have abnormal results of 0.251 ng/ml and 1.89 ng/ml. After analysis of all testosterone test results at different age groups, analysis of variance (ONE WAY ANOVA) results show that SS, MS and F values were 36.30, 7.26 and 9.3, respectively. We concluded that people over 40 are more likely to get OA. Osteoarthritis is more common in women than males, and it is more common in overweight people. Mountainous locations have a higher incidence of males with OA than females. Additionally, there are more females than males in plain terrain. According to our findings, bilateral OA is more typical than unilateral OA. Our research indicates a tenuous connection between OA and male patients' testosterone levels.

Runoff Variability in the Truckee–Carson River Basin from Tree Rings and a Water Balance Model

Abstract Regional warming and associated changes in hydrologic systems pose challenges to water supply management in river basins of the western United States and call for improved understanding of the spatial and temporal variability of runoff. We apply a network of total width, subannual width, and delta blue intensity tree-ring chronologies in combination with a monthly water balance model to identify droughts and their associated precipitation P and temperature T footprints in the Truckee–Carson River basin (TCRB). Stepwise regression gave reasonably accurate reconstructions, from 1688 to 1999, of seasonal P and T (e.g., R2 = 0.50 for May–September T). These were disaggregated to monthly values, which were then routed through a water balance model to generate “indirectly” reconstructed runoff. Reconstructed and observed annual runoff correlate highly (r = 0.80) from 1906 to 1999. The extended runoff record shows that twentieth-century droughts are unmatched in severity in a 300-yr context. Our water balance modeling reconstruction advances the conventional regression-based dendrochronological methods as it allows for multiple hydrologic components (evapotranspiration, snowmelt, etc.) to be evaluated. We found that imposed warming (3° and 6°C) generally exacerbated the runoff deficits in past droughts but that impact could be lessened and sometimes even reversed in some years by compensating factors, including changes in snow regime. Our results underscore the value of combining multiproxy tree-ring data with water balance modeling to place past hydrologic droughts in the context of climate change. Significance Statement We show how water balance modeling in combination with tree-ring data helps place modern droughts in the context of the past few centuries and a warming climate. Seasonal precipitation and temperature were reconstructed from multiproxy tree-ring data for a mountainous location near Lake Tahoe, and these reconstructions were routed through a water balance model to get a record of monthly runoff, snowmelt, and other water balance variables from 1688 to 1999. The resulting extended annual runoff record highlights the unmatched severity of twentieth-century droughts. A warming of 3°C imposed on reconstructed temperature generally exacerbates the runoff anomalies in past droughts, but this effect is sometimes offset by warming-related changes in the snow regime.

Rural Development Management Strategy In Empowerment In Neglasari Pakenjeng Garut, West Java

The goal of national development is to develop Indonesian people as a whole and comprehensively. There are more rural communities in every country, including Indonesia, than urban communities, so they need a development management strategy to manage them. Neglasari Pakenjeng Garut, West Java is one of the rural areas located in a mountainous location, so it requires a development planning arrangement as a form of public service. Based on the results of research using descriptive methodology with the title: "Rural Development Management Strategy for Empowerment in Neglasari Pakenjeng Garut, West Java ", it can result in improvements in the fields of education and the economy.

Application of Analytical Hierarchy Process and Frequency Ratio Model for Predictive Flood Susceptibility Mapping Using GIS for the Khazir River Basin, Northern Iraq

Flood damage assessment is considered the essential tool for evaluating risk to civil and agricultural systems in land use planning. The validity of the studies’ outcome depends on the availability of data and their spatial distribution. The present study came to compute flood susceptibility maps utilizing two application models: (i) the frequency ratio, and (ii) the analytical hierarchy process. These models were then tested in the Khazir River basin using GIS with a selection of twelve flood conditioning factors. The flood inventory variables layer and flood-causing factors were created using remote sensing data, a digital elevation model, and secondary data from various sources. Then, the flood inventory map was highlight divided into training and test data, with 105 flood sites (70%) used for training and 45 sites (30%) used for testing. After applying the areas under the curve for the frequency ratio and analytical hierarchy process models, which were 90.6% and 88.9%, respectively, the final flood sensitivity maps showed similar results for the two models, which confirm the effectiveness of the adopted methodology. The study found a considerable spatial variance in flood sensitivity maps, as (21.06%) of the flooded areas are classified as having very low sensitivity to flooding, (24.09%) are classified as having low vulnerability to floods, and (23.79%) are classified as having moderate vulnerability, (24.10%) classified as highly vulnerable to flooding, and (6.96%) classified as highly vulnerable to flooding. Flood danger ranged from very low in mountain locations to very high in plain areas close to the riverbanks. Obtained results could be improved if a land-use planning policy will be applied, in order to establish a master plan for water resources development to avoid flood damage.

Regional sources control dust in the mountain critical zone of the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains, USA

Mountain environments are profoundly impacted by the deposition of mineral dust, yet the degree to which this material is far-traveled or intra-regional is typically unclear. This distinction is fundamental to model future changes in mountain geoecosystems resulting from climatic or anthropogenic forcing in dust source regions. We address this question with a network of 17 passive dust samplers installed in primarily mountain locations in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho between October, 2020 and October 2021. For each collector, the dust deposition rate was calculated, and the physical and chemical properties of the dust were constrained. Results were combined with backward trajectory modeling to identify the geologic characteristics of the area over which air passed most frequently in route to each collector (the ‘hot spot’). Dust properties differ significantly between collectors, hot spots for many collectors are spatially discrete, and the dominant geologies in the hot spots corresponding to each collector vary considerably. These results support the hypothesis that the majority of the dust deposited in the areas we studied is sourced from arid lowlands in the surrounding region.

Introduction

Introduction

Tmesipteris alticola (Psilotaceae), a new fern species endemic to New Caledonia

ABSTRACT Tmesipteris alticola is described here as a new fern species endemic to New Caledonia's Grande Terre. It is a fifth species of Tmesipteris for the territory, and the second endemic. The obovate leaves and conic synangia of T. alticola distinguish it morphologically from all other species of Tmesipteris. Phylogenetic analyses of chloroplast DNA sequences support its distinctiveness, and indicate it is most closely related to T. truncata and T. vieillardii among the sampled species. Tmesipteris alticola is known from only four mountainous locations, all with ultramafic substrates in Province Sud, at elevations of 1200 m–1500 m, where it grows terrestrially or as a low epiphyte, seemingly mostly on ridges or around summits within short-statured cloud forest. We propose a provisional IUCN conservation status of Near Threatened for T. alticola because of its limited known occurrences. Tmesipteris alticola adds to a slew of fern species that have been recently newly described, reinstated, or recorded in New Caledonia.

Geographical Distribution of Global Radiation and Sunshine Duration over the Island of Cyprus

In this work, hourly measurements of global solar irradiances obtained from pyranometers and sunshine duration data using either Kipp & Zonen CSD3 automatic sensors or Campbell–Stokes sunshine recorders were assessed through an extensive quality control procedure and statistical analysis on the measured and derived solar parameters for all the actinometric stations installed in various locations over the island of Cyprus, covering mainly the period 2019–2021. This information is useful for engineers concerning the solar energy capture systems and energy efficiency who can therefore take knowledge of the local radiation levels. Monthly mean hourly values of global radiation and sunshine duration are calculated and shown through isoline diagrams. During June or July, daily global irradiations ranged between 25 MJ/m2 and 30 MJ/m2, with the lowest occurring in the mountainous locations. On the other hand, in January or December, they ranged between 6.5 MJ/m2 and 10.5 MJ/m2. The total annual number of hours of sunshine duration ranged between 2500 and 3500, with the lowest values recorded at the mountainous sites. The clearness index and relative sunshine duration were used for the classification of the weather conditions over the island. Furthermore, the interrelationships between the said indices were used for the estimation of global radiation. This work has specifically contributed to the characterization and analysis of hourly and daily solar global radiation. Furthermore, the measurements on the ground level could be compared with satellite observations in order to improve the geographical distribution of global radiation, especially in areas where no measurements exist. The analysis could be also extended for the other shortwave radiation components (Direct, Diffuse and Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR)) in order to assess the solar radiation regime over the island.

Comprehensive validation of 68 wind speed models highlights the benefits of ensemble approaches

Many different wind speed models support assessing the wind climate. Depending on their development, spatiotemporal resolution, and intended use, typical wind speed model types are wind atlases, reanalysis products, regional climate, and global climate models. They realistically represent different properties of the wind climate. For the first time, 68 wind speed models of different types are assessed for their predictive power for (1) mean wind speed, (2) wind speed distribution, and (3) temporal variability. In addition, eight ensembles of individual models from each model type are created and validated. The hypothesis is tested that ensembles of wind speed models generally improve model accuracy. For the validation, 148 wind speed time series with a data availability of at least ten years in 1979 to 2014 were used. The measurement sites were separated into flat and open, and mountainous locations. The results reveal the improved model performance of ensembles compared to individual models. Only wind atlases are capable of estimating wind speed properties at mountainous locations. Their median coefficient of determination related to mean wind speed at mountainous sites is 0.81 but less than 0.15 for any other model type. One important conclusion is that individual models may not be appropriate for wind resource assessment without prior validation. Furthermore, ensembles are recommended to improve predictive power for any wind climate properties. The results indicate how well the different model types can reproduce the analyzed wind speed characteristics.