3Dwindvelden

3Dwindvelden is a term used to describe three-dimensional wind fields, i.e., the spatial distribution of wind velocity in three dimensions (x, y, z) over a given region and time. In meteorology and fluid dynamics, 3D wind fields are used to represent how wind speed and direction vary with height and across horizontally, enabling analyses of atmospheric flow, urban aerodynamics, and atmospheric dispersion.

These fields can be derived from numerical weather prediction models, high-resolution simulations, or observations from instruments such as meteorological towers, Doppler lidar, radar wind profilers, and aircraft data. The data are usually stored as vector fields with components (u, v, w) or as derived quantities like wind speed, wind shear, or vorticity, and are commonly arranged on regular grids or unstructured meshes. Common data formats include NetCDF, GRIB, or HDF5.

Applications include weather forecasting, air quality modelling, wind energy resource assessment, and urban planning. In dispersion modelling, three-dimensional wind fields improve predictions of pollutant plumes and wildfire smoke. In wind energy, accurate 3D wind fields support turbine siting and load simulations, accounting for vertical shear and wake effects.

Challenges include sparse measurements at higher altitudes, uncertainties in wind components, temporal variability, and the need for data assimilation to merge observations with model output. Ongoing research focuses on higher resolution, multi-scale coupling, and better representation of turbulence in three-dimensional wind fields.

Related concepts include vector fields, atmospheric boundary layer structure, and computational fluid dynamics. The term is primarily used in technical contexts such as meteorology, wind engineering, and environmental modelling.