Preliminary results of the NORCOWE Direct Covariance Flux System for Ship based measurements

Abstract

To cover the increased demand of renewable energy the development of offshore wind turbines that can be placed in deep water has started. Model results from Sullivan et al. [2] indicate that the ocean has the ability to interact with the lower part of the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL). This leads to turbulent horizontal and vertical motions of the air that potentially reduces turbine lifetime and energy reliability. This paper gives a description of the Norwegian Center for Offshore Wind Energy (NORCOWE) direct covariance flux system. Consisting of a sonic anemometer, a state-of-the-art inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a data logger the system can easily be mounted on all floating platforms, e.g. ships or buoys and operates autonomously. This will in the future enable researchers to investigate turbulent motion and turbulent momentum transport processes in the MABL in more detail.