Emerging mobile lidar technology to study boundary layer winds influenced by operating turbines

Pichugina, Yelena [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)] (ORCID:0000000315827767); Brewer, Alan W. [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)]; Baidar, Sunil [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)]; Banta, Robert [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)] (ORCID:0000000200095340); Strobach, Edward [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)]; McCarty, Brandi [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)]; Carroll, Brian [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)]; Bodini, Nicola [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000225509853); Letizia, Stefano [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000159990131); Marchbanks, Richard [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)]; Zucker, Michael [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)]; Holloway, Maxwell [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)]; Moriarty, Patrick [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000171225993)

doi:10.5194/wes-11-417-2026

DOE OSTI · 3021205

Emerging mobile lidar technology to study boundary layer winds influenced by operating turbines

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Abstract

The development of a microjoule-class pulsed Doppler lidar and deployment of this compact system on mobile platforms such as aircraft, ships, or trucks have opened a new opportunity to characterize the dynamics of complex mesoscale wind flows. The PickUp-based Mobile Atmospheric Sounder (PUMAS) truck-based lidar system was recently used during the American Wake Experiment (AWAKEN) to assess the general structure of boundary layer (BL) wind and turbulence around wind turbines in central Oklahoma. Wind speed profiles averaged over PUMAS transects influenced by the operating turbines (waked flow) show a 1–2 m s −1 reduction compared to mean undisturbed (free flow) wind speed profiles. Spatial variability in wind speed was observed in time–height cross-sections at different distances from turbines. The wind speeds were about 9–12 m s −1 at 6 km distance compared to 5–7 m s −1 at the transects near the turbines. The PUMAS dataset from AWAKEN demonstrated the capability of the mobile Doppler lidar system to document spatial variability in wind flows at different distances from wind turbines and obtain quantitative estimates of wind speed reduction in the waked flow. The high-frequency, simultaneous measurements of the horizontal and vertical winds provide a new approach for characterizing dynamic processes critical for wind farm wake analyses.

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Pichugina, Yelena [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)] (ORCID:0000000315827767), Brewer, Alan W. [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)], Baidar, Sunil [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)], Banta, Robert [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)] (ORCID:0000000200095340), Strobach, Edward [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)], McCarty, Brandi [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)], Carroll, Brian [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)], Bodini, Nicola [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000225509853), Letizia, Stefano [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000159990131), Marchbanks, Richard [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)], Zucker, Michael [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)], Holloway, Maxwell [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)], Moriarty, Patrick [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000171225993). 2026-02-10. Emerging mobile lidar technology to study boundary layer winds influenced by operating turbines. https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-417-2026

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