2015/05/18 by A. M. Makarieva, Anastassia M. Makarieva, V. G. Gorshkov +13
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics (physics.ao-ph) #Climate variability and models #FOS: Physical sciences #Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn) #Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations #Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research #physics.ao-ph #physics.flu-dyn
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1505.04543
10 pages
openalex publication_date 2015/05/18 · arxiv created 2015/08/27 · arxiv updated 2015/08/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Starting from basic physical principles, we present a novel derivation linking the global wind power to measurable atmospheric parameters. The resulting expression distinguishes three components of the atmospheric power (the kinetic power associated with horizontal and vertical motion and the gravitational power of precipitation) and highlights problems with previous approaches. Focusing on Laliberté et al. (2015), we show how inappropriate treatment of material derivatives in the presence of phase transitions leads to significant errors in wind power analyses. We discuss the physical constraints on global wind power and the opportunities provided by considering the dynamic effects of water vapor condensation.