Vaisala Energy Support
Does 3TIER incorporate observational data?
Yes. 3TIER constrains its mesoscale numerical weather prediction (NWP) atmospheric simulations using inputs taken from a consistent, high-quality NWP dataset (the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis), which incorporates observational data using data assimilation techniques. 3TIER uses this dataset to run a combination of a 10-year, coarser resolution (15 km) set of NWP simulations with a 365-day, finer resolution (5 km) set of NWP simulations.
This methodology provides the basis for 3TIER's global wind dataset. To further ensure that the modeled wind speeds accurately reflect real-world wind speeds, a final correction was performed using two relatively high-resolution analysis datasets. For Canada, Mexico, and the continental US, the correction was based on the analysis from the NCEP Rapid Update Cycle model at 40 km resolution. Over the remainder of the globe, the correction was based on analysis from the NCEP Global Forecast System model at a 1° resolution.
More Wind Online Tools Questions
- Which Wind Time Series dataset should I choose?
- How do I enter a location?
- How do I interpret the graph provided by the Monthly Mean Wind Speed Tool?
- What does the Annual Mean Wind Speed Tool provide?
- How do I interpret the wind rose provided by the Annual Mean Wind Rose Tool?
- What does the Wind Speed Distribution Tool provide?
- Why do we show a +/- next to the annual value?
- What wind speeds are shown on the map?
- How can I compare sites side-by-side?
- What affects wind at a given site?
- What is a hub height?
- How do I change locations for individual tools?
- What makes a good wind resource?
- What do the colors on the map mean?
- What is the source of the information?
- How accurate are the Wind Prospecting Tools?
- Why does the map disappear?
- How was the 5 km global wind dataset created?
- What were 3TIER's data validation procedures for the 5 km global wind dataset?
- What happened to 3TIER’s Reference Wind Time Series Product?
- Why do all the various datasets have different start and end times?
- Doesn’t horizontal resolution matter? What about downscaling with weather models like WRF and MM5?
- Why are the long-term mean values of each data set so similar and why don’t they match the values I get when I download these data directly from the various global modeling centers?
If you didn't find what you were looking for, please contact 3TIER Support for additional assistance.