We analyze 21 years of global, high-resolution (40 km), hourly winddata from the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s ClimateFour Dimensional Data Assimilation reanalyses to characterize lowleveljets (LLJs), broadly defined here as wind speed maxima locatedbelow 3000 m. We find that LLJs are more ubiquitous than previouslythought and have high wind power densities (up to 15,000 Wm-2). They can form over land (e.g., the US Great Plains), over theoceans (e.g., the descending branches of Hadley cells), or nearshore(e.g., the Somali jet offshore of the horn of Africa, the strongestand most persistent LLJ in the summer). If airborne wind energy(AWE) systems could be deployed to reach the LLJs, then the globaltechnical wind power potential in LLJs, assuming an intermediatenumber of AWE systems per unit of land area, would be at least7.5-9 TW (1 TW = 10~(12) W), more than enough to power humanity.
展开▼
