Numerical Experiments of Atmospheric Boundary Layer flows:interplay between distributed drag elements and buoyancy effects ...

• Main Author: Sharma, Varun
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne, EPFL 2018
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5075/epfl-thesis-8409; http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/253069

Anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases due to human activity is causing global warming and inducing climate change. A major implication of global warming is the decreasing ice mass in the polar regions resulting in sea-level rise. It is now known that sublimation of drifting and blowing snow is one of the dominant terms of the mass balance of Antarctica. There are various efforts underway to curtail greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impact of global warming. One of the most promising solutions involves using non-polluting renewable sources of electricity. Global wind energy estimates have been shown to be far in excess of current and projected energy requirements. From a fluid dynamics perspective, turbulence in the lowest region of the atmosphere, known as the Atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) exerts significant control on both wind energy extraction systems as well as drifting and blowing snow particles, both of which can be considered as distributed drag elements that act as a sink of ...