the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
The Influence of Local Winds on Wind Power Characteristics in a High Arctic Valley
Abstract. Wind power in the High Arctic is little developed, and understanding of the local wind conditions is needed. Therefore, the average wind characteristics in the Svalbard valley Adventdalen are investigated using primarily observations from wind profilers and weather stations. Low-level jets (LLJs) are frequent in calm synoptic conditions because the LLJs are, to a large degree, driven by local thermal gradients. Moreover, the LLJs increase the wind speed at low levels. The average observational wind profile has a wind speed maximum around the height of 80 m to 100 m and the wind power density (WPD) a maximum around 120 m to 140 m. This is poorly represented by numerical models and also differs from wind speed profiles from flat locations where the wind speed and WPD typically increase with height. The presence of valley winds is further responsible for a decreased speed variability at low levels, which leads to shortened periods with persistent little wind compared to higher elevated locations. The wind characteristics in Adventdalen advocate for the consideration of wind power in Arctic valleys.
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Status: open (until 06 Jun 2025)
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RC1: 'Comment on wes-2025-61', Anonymous Referee #1, 20 May 2025
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It is an interesting and careful analysis of the complex flow in the Advent valley – a flow that has been the focus of several publications throughout the years.
The manuscript is focused on wind energy and the conclusion is interesting – that the optimum for wind energy production is wind turbines located in the valley with a hub height of approximately 100 m, thus taking advantage of the frequent LLJ in the valley.
I have a few points:
- (1): As written in the text it could be understood as if A is the sweeping area of the wind turbine and thus covering heights with varying wind speed. The WPD is the available power for a unit area at a given height. Please clarify this in the text.
- (3): The equation for the log wind profile is: u(z) = (ustar/kappa) * ln(z(zo) thus kappa in Eq.(3) is misplaced (inverse). It is not clear if this is just a typo or it will have implications on the use of the log law for the rest of the paper.
- Line 114: It is not clear what is meant by “at least 9 min of measurements with a 10% availability”. This suggests, although it is stated that the analysis is based on 10 min averages, that the analysis is based on the original raw 1 Hertz data from the wind lidar? What is the threshold CNR? 10% availability is very low – I suggest repeating the analysis with an availability of say 50% and see if this changes the result and conclusions. A lower CNR threshold combined with higher data availability might be preferable.
- I note that motions caused by waves in the stable atmosphere of the valley also might contribute to the flow pattern. Please discuss.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2025-61-RC1
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