Høst 2023

FYS-3034 Wind Modelling in Complex Terrain - 10 stp

The course is administrated by

Institutt for fysikk og teknologi

Type of course

The course is available as a singular course. The course is also available to exchange students and Fulbright-students.

Course contents

This course gives an introduction to the atmospheric processes that lead to winds on large and local scales, and how numerical weather models can be used in prediction of wind-energy production.

The course includes training in The Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF), which is an open source model for regional weather and climate model commonly used for in a wide range of applications, in operational forecasting and in research projects. Other relevant software for wind energy modelling may also be introduced.

The course will include wind measurement from relevant sites, to compare the performance of different wind modelling approaches.

Meteorology curriculum focuses on:

Temperature and humidity in the atmosphere
Boundary-layer meteorology and stability
Air pressure and winds
Local winds in mountainous terrain
Modelling local winds
Wind and energy production

The WRF curriculum focuses on

How the model is built, including which parts handles the various physical processes in the atmosphere
How to set up and run the model, including considerations that must be made in order to adapt the model for special cases like wind-energy production
How to handle and analyze the output, with special emphasis on applications for wind energy

Admission requirements

Admission requirements are a Bachelors degree in physics or similar education, including specialization in physics worth the equivalent of not less than 80 ECTS credits. Local admission, application code 9371 - singular courses at Master's level.

Objective of the course

Knowledge - The student can:

based on physical arguments, explain the atmospheric processes that lead to wind, and local wind phenomenon caused by topography
describe how atmospheric physical processes are represented in numeric models
describe what a numerical weather and a climate model is, and how it functions
describe how numerical models may be used for wind-energy prediction

Skills - The student can:

analyze and presenting the results from wind measurements and numerical weather models
prepare and conduct a simulation with a state-of-the-art weather-prediction model (WRF)
assess cases and adapt the WRF model for special cases with respect to temporal and spatial resolutions and choices for parameterizations and initial and boundary data

General comepense - The student can:

apply their knowledge and skill on new projects in meteorology, climate science and wind modelling
use common meteorological expressions and be able to communicate self-produced and independent results in the fields of meteorology, climate and wind modelling

Language of instruction

The language of instruction is English and all of the syllabus material is in English. Examination questions will be given in English, but may be answered either in English or a Scandinavian language.

Teaching methods

Weekly lectures and seminars 40 hours and 1-2 intensive days with simulation course.

The course consist of an initial WRF tutorial and introductory seminar early in the semester, then lectures and seminar groups covers the meteorology and theoretical curriculum through the semester. Relevant WRF assignments are given for each lecture. A large part of the workload consists of WRF modelling and analyzes of output, including working on the compulsory assignment. Students should be prepared to work independently on this part of the course, although supporting seminar groups will be given.