Abstract
The measurement of atmospheric winds using a cup anemometer to measure speed and a wind vane to measure direction, recording the data on paper charts is commonplace. Standard Meteorological Service criteria stipulate that the wind charts so recorded are read (averaged over one hour) by taking the dominant wind direction over an hour and the wind run then gives the speed over that hour. However, fluctuations of wind direction can lead to erroneous results. A vector average wind obtained using two orthogonally mounted propeller anemometers is described here, and comparisons are drawn between this and the first-mentioned technique. Prevailing winds are shown to be approximately the same for the two systems, but minor components can differ considerably. It is also shown that the integration time of the wind will have a marked effect on results.
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References
Gill, G. C.: 1975, ‘Development and Use of the Gill UVW Anemometer’, Proc. 3rd Symposium on Meteorological Observations and Instrumentation, Washington, Aer. Meteor. Soc. Boston, Mass.
MacCready, P.: 1965, ‘Dynamic Response Characteristics of Meteorological Sensors’, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 16, 533–538.
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Surridge, A.D. On the measurement of atmospheric winds. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 24, 421–428 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00120731
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00120731