Rate of increase in wind strength per unit increase in height
Not to be confused with gradient wind.
This article is about the interaction of horizontal wind with the earth's surface. For a more general treatment of related phenomena, see wind shear.
In common usage, wind gradient, more specifically wind speed gradient[1]
or wind velocity gradient,[2]
or alternatively shear wind,[3]
is the vertical component of the gradient of the mean horizontal wind speed in the lower atmosphere.[4] It is the rate of increase of wind strength with unit increase in height above ground level.[5][6] In metric units, it is often measured in units of meters per second of speed, per kilometer of height (m/s/km), which reduces inverse milliseconds (ms−1), a unit also used for shear rate.
^Hadlock, Charles (1998). Mathematical Modeling in the Environment. Washington: Mathematical Association of America. ISBN 978-0-88385-709-0. Thus we have a "wind-speed gradient" as we move vertically, and this has a tendency to encourage mixing between the air at one level and the air at those levels immediately above and below it.
^Gorder, P.J.; Kaufman, K.; Greif, R. (1996). "Effect of wind gradient on the trajectory synthesis algorithms of the Center-TRACON Automation System (CTAS)". AIAA, Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference, San Diego, CA. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. ...the effect of a change in mean wind velocity with altitude, the wind velocity gradient...[permanent dead link]
^Sachs, Gottfried (2005-01-10). "Minimum shear wind strength required for dynamic soaring of albatrosses". Ibis. 147 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.2004.00295.x. ...the shear wind gradient is rather weak....the energy gain...is due to a mechanism other than the wind gradient effect.
^Oke, T. (1987). Boundary Layer Climates. London: Methuen. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-415-04319-9. Therefore the vertical gradient of mean wind speed (dū/dz) is greatest over smooth terrain, and least over rough surfaces.
^Crocker, David (2000). Dictionary of Aeronautical English. New York: Routledge. pp. 104. ISBN 978-1-57958-201-2. wind gradient = rate of increase of wind strength with unit increase in height above ground level;
^Cite error: The named reference Wizelius was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
In common usage, windgradient, more specifically wind speed gradient or wind velocity gradient, or alternatively shear wind, is the vertical component...
Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as windgradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the...
there is a windgradient in the wind flow ~100 meters above the Earth's surface—the surface layer of the planetary boundary layer. Wind speed increases...
over time. The gradientwind is similar to the geostrophic wind but also includes centrifugal force (or centripetal acceleration). Wind direction is usually...
thermal wind balance, a term generalizable also to more complicated horizontal flow balances such as gradientwind balance. Since the geostrophic wind at a...
-ˈstroʊ-/) is the theoretical wind that would result from an exact balance between the Coriolis force and the pressure gradient force. This condition is called...
above, the pressure gradient constitutes one of the main forces acting on the air to make it move as wind. Note that the pressure gradient force points from...
the boundary between air masses of different velocity. Such zones of windgradient are generally found close to obstacles and close to the surface, so...
is a windgradient; the fact that sound is carried along by the wind is not important. For sound propagation, the exponential variation of wind speed...
pressure gradient, Rossby waves and jet streams, and local weather conditions. There are also links to be found between wind speed and wind direction...
Density gradient Pressure gradient Temperature gradient Geothermal gradient Sound speed gradientWindgradient Lapse rate Grade (slope) Time derivative Material...
{\displaystyle \ v_{z}} = speed of the wind at height z {\displaystyle \ z} v g {\displaystyle \ v_{g}} = gradientwind at gradient height z g {\displaystyle...
soaring involves repeatedly rising into wind and descending downwind, thus gaining energy from the vertical windgradient. The only effort expended is in the...
stability of the Great Basin High, causing a pressure gradient that turns the synoptic scale winds southward down the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada...
ISBN 0-415-23870-6. Everest, F. (2001). The Master Handbook of Acoustics. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 262–263. ISBN 0-07-136097-2. SOFAR channel Windgradient v t e...
Shippensburg, PA: White Mane Publishing, 2001l ISBN 978-1572492547. Windgradient § Sound propagation for a fuller explanation of the phenomenon. Gobo...
pressure gradient is low. Consequently, the winds are rare and usually weak (except sea and land breezes in coastal areas) while in tropical trade-wind climates...
birds is less dependent on it. Prevailing winds in mountain locations can lead to significant rainfall gradients, ranging from wet across windward-facing...
water, maximum sustained winds over land average 8% lower. More especially, over a city or rough terrain, the windgradient effect could cause a reduction...
masses of different horizontal velocity. However, such zones of high "windgradient" are usually too close to the ground to be used safely by gliders.: 35 ...
the hydraulic conductivity of the soil and the magnitude of the pressure gradient through the soil. Both of these factors influence the rate of bulk flow...
potential temperature wet-bulb temperature windwind chill wind direction windgradientwind profiler wind shear wind speed windcatcher Windscale fire winter...
contrasts with the more typical onshore flow. The winds blow with greatest force when the pressure gradient is perpendicular to the axis of the Santa Ynez...
anemometers are commonly used to indicate wind direction. windgradientwind gust A brief increase in the speed of the wind, usually lasting less than 20 seconds...
pressure charts supporting gradient-wind conditions Each balanced-flow idealisation gives a different estimate for the wind speed in the same conditions...
Micrometeorology is significant in that sound waves can be refracted by windgradients or thermoclines, effectively dismissing the effect of some noise barriers...
using the pressure of wind blowing into the windcatcher, or directing airflow using buoyancy forces from temperature gradients (stack effect). The relative...
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