Standardization of Offshore Surface Wind Speeds

Abstract

ind measurement offers an essential data source for a wide range of practices in the fields of meteorology and wind engineering. However, records of surface winds are usually influenced by terrain/topographic effects, and direct usage of raw data may bring in nonignorable errors for follow-up applications. A data-driven standardization scheme was recently proposed by the authors to convert the surface wind measurements over rugged terrain into their potential values corresponding to reference conditions, that is, for neutral winds at a height of 10 m above open flat terrain (z0 = 0.03 m). As a complementary part of the preceding work, this study focuses on the standardization of surface wind speeds with marine exposures. The effect of wind strength on the roughness of the sea surface is further taken into account, with emphasis on the difference between deep-ocean and shallow-water cases. As an application example, wind measurements at a buoy site near the coastal line (water depth is 14 m) are adjusted to their potential values, which are then compared with those at a nearby station. The good agreement between the two sets of results demonstrates the accuracy and effectiveness of the standardization method. It is also found that the behavior of roughness length scale over shallow water may differ noticeably from that over deep ocean, especially under strong wind conditions, and an inappropriate usage of marine roughness predictors may result in significant estimation errors.