Decadal Wind Trends at the Savannah River Site

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Decadal Wind Trends at the Savannah River Site
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Allen H. Weber, Robert L. Buckley, and Matthew
J. ParkerSavannah River National Laboratory,
Aiken, South Carolinaret.
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Corresponding author address A. Weber, 820
Jackson Ave., North Augusta, SC 29841.
traviata_at_comcast.net
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Southeast Stations Used
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Wind and Temperature Observations

• NWS and SRNL data show the mean annual daytime
  and nighttime temperatures are increasing 0.04
  and 0.05 ºC respectively, per year.
• The wind speed is decreasing for this area of the
  Southeast.

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Increasing SRNL Temperature Trend
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Decreasing Wind Speed Trend in the SE
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Decreasing Wind Speed Trend at SRNL
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Constant Sigma-Azimuth
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Increasing Sigma-Elevation
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Slopes of Trends
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Seasonal Slopes of Trends
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Seasonal Slopes of Trends
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?E and ?A for Daytime and Nighttime

• ?E for daytime and nighttime from SRNL Area
  Towers is increasing at a rate of 0.03 and 0.01
  degrees per year, respectively.
• ?A for daytime from the SRNL Area Towers is
  increasing at a rate of 0.03 degrees per year.
  Nighttime values are decreasing by 0.10 degrees
  per year.

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Conclusions

• Daytime and nighttime temperatures are increasing
  4 and 5 ºC respectively, per century.
• Daytime and nighttime speeds are decreasing 0.9
  and 1.4 m/s respectively, per century
• Increases in ?E for daytime and nighttime suggest
  that convective turbulence is increasing. This is
  probably due to a decrease in the thermal
  stability between the surface and the 60-m level.
• The daytime rate for ?E is increasing more
  rapidly than the nighttime rate.