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A method for measuring mean wind velocities in a canyon with tracer balloons

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Abstract

A method using balloons as tracers for measuring mean wind velocity in street canyons or mountain valleys has been developed. Tests of the method with numerical experiments showed that the method reproduced an assumed wind field quite well provided that the buoyancy component of the balloon velocity was larger than the downward velocity component of the wind. Tests of the method with measurements of wind velocity in a street canyon of downtown Chicago showed that the method yielded flow patterns quite similar to photographic results of flow visualization of phisical simulations by other investigators. However, no direct measurements of wind velocity were available for quantitative comparison.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Research Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 60439, Argonne, IL, USA

    C. M. Sheih & F. T. Depaul

  2. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

    B. J. Billman

Authors
  1. C. M. Sheih
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  2. B. J. Billman
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  3. F. T. Depaul
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Sheih, C.M., Billman, B.J. & Depaul, F.T. A method for measuring mean wind velocities in a canyon with tracer balloons. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 32, 401–410 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00122002

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00122002

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