The aim of this project is to show the capabilities of a RANS based numerical model in accurately analysing wind flow over real terrain regions, and assess its usage for wind energy applications. The main reasons this type of model is not widely used in the wind energy industry are due to the computational cost and the expertise required to operate such a model. These factors are assessed and various setups of the model are examined to consider the accuracy attained. The modelling process is also automated to reduce necessary user input in the process. The models performance is tested over a number of terrain types: Flat terrain (with surface roughness), an axisymmetric hill and a real terrain region (the Askervein hill). Primary consideration is given to velocity speed-up predictions which are paramount when considering the energy availability in the wind. A number of turbulence models have been tested for each terrain region to assess the improved accuracy obtained by using a more complicated CFD setup. The mesh discretisation has also been analysed for sensitivity to change, providing a comprehensive analysis of wind flow over Askervein. The CFD setup process is automated to reduce the time taken in setting up a model and increase the speed of providing a full wind field assessment for all wind directions, and allowing determination of average yearly values of velocity. This improves the access to such models for non-expert users and improves the availability of the model to wind energy developers siting farms in complex terrain regions. The model is shown to perform well for all terrain and roughness types. The turbulence properties are not well modelled, and that is a known limitation of this model type. The project demonstrates the advantages of CFD models for wind energy applications through the presented results and successful automation of the process.

Thesis (M.Sc.). / Written for the Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2008/01/15). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-79). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology, 1990.

Thesis (M.S. in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Murphree, Tom ; Stone, Rebecca. "June 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on July 13, 2009. DTIC Identifiers: Climatology, precipitation rate, statistical forecasting, El Nino, La Nina. Author(s) subject terms: Iraq, Climatology, Long Range Forecast, Composite Analysis Forecast (CAF), Dust, Military Operations, Climate; Seasonal Forecast; Shamal; El Nino; La Nina; Precipitation Rate; Statistical Forecast. Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-61). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2007. / "Graduate Program in Geography." Includes bibliographical references (p. 208-225).

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. Robert Hart, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Meteorology. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 19, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 99 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-119). Available also in an electronic version from UMI Company.

This thesis was funded by a scholarship from the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Manchester and is presented in an alternative thesis format. The thesis consists of three separate journal articles which form a coherent research project. Paper 1 is a climatology of tornadoes in the British Isles from 1980-2012. The climatology included interannual variability, seasonality, diurnal cycle, intensity, location of occurrence, sounding-derived environmental parameters, and parent storm types of tornadoes. One finding from Paper 1 was that the most common parent storm type in the British Isles was linear storms, for example, storms forming along cold fronts. This finding motivated Papers 2 and 3, which studied vortexgenesis in a tornadic narrow cold-frontal rainband (NCFR), a storm type common to the British Isles, which occurred 29 November 2011. This NCFR caused seven tornadoes across Wales and England. Paper 2 compares the differ- ences in WRF simulation runs of the NCFR based on initialization time, planetary boundary layer scheme, microphysics scheme, and land surface scheme. Out of 96 simulations, the most realistic (most similar to observed radar reflectivity) run was chosen for a case study in Paper 3. Paper 3 analyzes vortices along the NCFR to determine mechanisms dominating their formation and maturation.

Extreme precipitation in Illinois contributes to impacts across diverse landscapes, posing threats to agriculture in rural areas and infrastructure in urban centers. Previous studies have reported an increase in the frequency of heavy precipitation in the region and projected its amplification under climate change. However, these findings are often characterized by inconsistent and/or inappropriate approaches for estimating historical trends and their significance and often lack process-based understanding regarding future changes in extreme event climatology. This study aims to obtain robust regional extreme precipitation trends and relate those trends to large-scale circulation and humidity. The climatology and trends of daily extreme precipitation are established by applying a peaks-over-threshold approach to the newly developed NOAA NCEI nClimGrid-D dataset which includes daily precipitation totals at 5-km resolution. For trend estimation, we use Theil-Sen estimation with three approaches designed to emphasize correction of inflation in the significance of the estimated trends: (1) a “naïve” approach in which we simply consider the direct output of the Theil-Sen method and assess significance using a traditional Mann-Kendall test, (2) an approach based on a modified Mann-Kendall test to account for serial autocorrelation in the assessment of significance, and (3) an approach that also controls for the false discovery rate associated with a large number of tests by considering field significance. To relate these trends to large scale drivers, a multivariate self-organizing map is constructed based on standardized 500 mb geopotential height and 850 mb specific humidity obtained from the ECMWF ERA-5 reanalysis dataset. We use a Monte Carlo experiment to identify weather types most associated with extreme precipitation in the area. Temporal and spatial characteristics of the identified weather types are then analyzed to better understanding their role in changes in the frequency of extreme precipitation events across the region. As expected, the results indicate a stark contrast between the naive and more complex approaches for significance testing, where controlling for autocorrelation and test multiplicity reduces the spatial extent of significant trends across all extreme precipitation thresholds. Extreme precipitation in Illinois is found to be associated with a small number of specific weather types characterized by distinct patterns of geopotential height and humidity. Furthermore, the weather types most frequently associated with extreme precipitation are increasing in frequency, suggesting that changes in atmospheric circulation related to moisture transport and convergence are a major contributor to changes in extreme precipitation in Illinois.