Provision of Services for Monitoring Vertical Wind Velocity and Turbulent Intensity Profiles in the High-Density Urban Boundary Layer in Hong Kong (1 Oct 22 - 31 Mar 24)
• Researchers: NG Yan Yung, Jimmy FUNG, REN Chen, LI Yuguo, LIN Changqing, HE Yueyang
• Funding Amount: HK$1,400,000
• Funding source: Environmental Protection Department

The EPD hired a contractor to monitor real-time wind data and provide vertical profiles of wind velocity and turbulent intensity in the high-density urban boundary layer in Hong Kong for 15 consecutive months using Wind Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) System. These measured data will be used to understand better the local micro-climate conditions for enhancing air quality modelling systems. In particular, the wind and turbulent intensity profiles can be used as input data in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and for validation purpose.

This project will use two sets of Wind LiDAR Systems to monitor real-time wind data and establish a dataset of vertical profiles of wind velocity and turbulent intensity in the high-density urban boundary layer in Hong Kong. The specific objectives of the project is listed as follows:

1. The project team will be responsible for providing, transporting, setting up, running, and maintaining the Wind LiDAR Systems and all its accessories at two (2) monitoring sites to monitor vertical wind profiles. Two monitoring sites are proposed: 1) HKO King's Park Meteorological Station at Tsim Sha Tsui; and 2) EPD Cape D'Aguilar Supersite Air Quality Monitoring Station at Hok Tsui.
2. The project team will monitor vertical wind profiles simultaneously in real-time for fifteen (15) consecutive months (tentatively from 2022 Q3 to 2023 Q3) using the Wind LiDAR Systems. The project team will process and validate all the monitoring data and submit Quarterly Reports to Environmental Protection Department (EPD).
3. The project team will analyze and compare the obtained Wind LiDAR data at the monitoring sites to determine the spatial variation and relation in wind profiles among upwind, city center, and downwind locations.
4. The project team will compare the Wind LiDAR data with available upper-air weather and wind measurement data for the urban area of Hong Kong (e.g., radiosonde measurements at HKO King’s Park Meteorological Station) for inter-system performance comparison and evaluation. The findings will be summarized in a Finally Report and submitted to EPD for acceptance.