WINDS OBSERVED IN THE NORTHERN EUROPEAN SEAS WITH WIND LIDARS, METEOROLOGICAL MASTS AND SATELLITE

Ocean winds have been observed in the Baltic, Irish and North Seas from a combination of ground-based lidars, tall off-shore meteorological masts and satellites remote sensing in recent years. In the FP7 project NORSEWInD (2008-2012) the project partners joined forces to ensure collection of these data. In particular, an array of wind profiling lidars was deployed at offshore platforms. All lidars were tested at the Høvsøre test site at DTU Wind Energy (former Risø DTU) prior to installation at the offshore platforms. The lidar operated in the harsh marine environment for several months, a few of them for up to two years when the project campaign ended.