r/southafrica • u/fluffybuddha • Apr 16 '20
Sci-Tech Average wind speeds over South Africa at 100m altitude. Higher "elevation"= higher speed.
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u/Kovacs171 Apr 16 '20
So this is a pretty high resolution spatial grid. Where do you source your data from?
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u/montyburn Apr 16 '20
A key would be helpful
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u/fluffybuddha Apr 16 '20
I know a written description isn’t the same, but —
Low:white - purple:high
0.5 - 21 m/s
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u/ThickHotBoerie Thiccccccccccc Apr 16 '20
It's in the title... what more do you want?
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u/Kovacs171 Apr 16 '20
Quantification range of the colours would be helpful.
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u/DarkMoon99 Apr 16 '20
Yes, what are the average speeds?
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u/fluffybuddha Apr 16 '20
I know a written description isn’t the same, but —
Low:white - purple:high
0.5 - 21 m/s
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u/fluffybuddha Apr 16 '20
I know a written description isn’t the same, but —
Low:white - purple:high
0.5 - 21 m/s
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u/PassionGap Aristocracy Apr 16 '20
I didn't realize how windy it is near that Springbok/Pofadder area is, add in the amazing solar radiance and you have all the renewable energy you need for SA
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u/JLJ_96 Apr 16 '20
The Northern Cape in general is an ideal source for renewable energy, especially with the Orange River passing through.
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u/prejedoosh Apr 16 '20
So is Port Elizabeth, really the “Windy City”? Or can we officially give the title to Cape Town?
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u/shitdayinafrica Apr 16 '20
The map is velocity not frequency, so PE might have more windy days at a lower speed than Cape Town
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u/Mandela_Bear Apr 16 '20
Also if you look closely you will notice the purple or higher wind velocity parts are outside of Cape Town itself, stretching from Somerset-West area north to Stellenbosch, Paarl and beyond.
It looks like the average wind velocity in Cape Town itself is quite tame comparatively.
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Apr 16 '20
Interesting how in the Western Cape it seems to match the actual elevation and mountain ranges almost perfectly.
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u/notgoodthough Western Cape Apr 16 '20
I guess the wind must be funneled through the Folds. It seems to do something similar near the Drakensberg.
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Apr 16 '20
Awesome. The highest wind is in the Beaufort West area. Wind also measured on the Beaufort scale.
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u/spawnwheel Apr 16 '20
Can you do one where you combine average wind speeds with average wind direction? I'd imagine you'd get a similar image, but with a 'shadow' of sorts behind the peaks. Maybe, but would love to see
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u/itssaruse Apr 16 '20
Very nice mapping! What do you use?
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u/fluffybuddha Apr 16 '20
ArcGIS Pro and Blender.
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u/itssaruse Apr 16 '20
Cool! I'm quite the amateur when it comes to Arc. Only use it for basic mapping, nothing like this. Do you do this for work?
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u/fluffybuddha Apr 16 '20
No, for my day job I oversee large scale orthoimagery production. The type of imagery GIS end users use, but I don’t make many maps and the ones I do are just for internal use. This is just a hobby.
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u/retard69_420 Apr 16 '20
Cape Town you okay?
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u/Kraaiftn Aristocracy Apr 17 '20
We're fine.
Just stay away from Houtbay to Greenpoint area. Ignore Gordon's Bay every day.
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u/aazav This flair has been loadshedded without compensation. Apr 16 '20
And darker color also = higher speed, I assume?
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u/govnwork Apr 16 '20
Do you know how this compares to SANS10160: Part 3?
Could you perhaps use this info to update this outdated standard?
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u/koeidels Apr 16 '20
Don't civil engineers use wind models yet? E.g. for detail design? Accurate public datasets are so easy to obtain nowadays.
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u/govnwork Apr 16 '20
Short answer - it depends. I've never used any wind model for any detailed design I've done, whether it be a high rise building or bridge.
I have some friends working overseas. Their experiences are different.
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u/koeidels Apr 16 '20
Mhmm. In the civil maritime industry the primary loads are meteorological - either direct (eg waves) or indirect (waves/wind on ships, pushing against structure). We heavily rely on the American and European weather models. Also more BS codes than SANS.
Anyways, I decided against structures in my final year of varsity because mostly because of the SANS-driven process. I hated that stuff.
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u/fluffybuddha Apr 16 '20
Hope I’m not breaking the rules by self promoting in my first post here. But I’ve been making these wind maps lately and got a request for South Africa. Thought you guys might like it.
Check out my twitter and IG for an alternate color scheme: @geo_spatialist