A study examines how agriculture influences mortality due to poor air quality in the United States.
Image credit: Jason D. Hill.
Edited* by Stephen H. Schneider, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, and approved August 13, 2010 (received for review January 15, 2010)
Abstract
Utility-scale large wind farms are rapidly growing in size and numbers all over the world. Data from a meteorological field campaign show that such wind farms can significantly affect near-surface air temperatures. These effects result from enhanced vertical mixing due to turbulence generated by wind turbine rotors. The impacts of wind farms on local weather can be minimized by changing rotor design or by siting wind farms in regions with high natural turbulence. Using a 25-y-long climate dataset, we identified such regions in the world. Many of these regions, such as the Midwest and Great Plains in the United States, are also rich in wind resources, making them ideal candidates for low-impact wind farms.
Footnotes
- 1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: sbroy{at}atmos.uiuc.edu.
Author contributions: S.B.R. designed research; S.B.R. performed research; S.B.R. and J.J.T. analyzed data; and S.B.R. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
*This Direct Submission article had a prearranged editor.
Impacts of wind farms on surface air temperatures
Article Classifications
- Physical Sciences
- Environmental Sciences
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