A measurement tower or measurement mast, also known as meteorological tower or meteorological mast (met tower or met mast), is a free standing tower or a removed mast, which carries measuring instruments with meteorological instruments, such as thermometers and instruments to measure wind speed. Measurement towers are an essential component of rocket launching sites, since one must know exact wind conditions for an execution of a rocket launch. Met masts are crucial in the development of wind farms, as precise knowledge of the wind speed is necessary to know how much energy will be produced, and whether the turbines will survive on the site. Measurement towers are also used in other contexts, for instance near nuclear power stations, and by ASOS stations.
Examples
Meteorology
+ Structure City or region Country Height (metres) Year built Notes Amazon Tall Tower Observatory Vila de Balbina 325 2015 IAP Meteorological Tower Beijing 325 1979 for meteorological measurements, studies of air pollution and studies of the atmospheric boundary layer Obninsk Meteorological tower Obninsk 310 1958 for meteorological and radioactivity measurements Zotino Tall Tower Observation Facility Zotino 302 for measurements of meteorological variables and of concentration of greenhouse gases and aerosols KNMI-mast Cabauw Cabauw 213 1972 for meteorological research Jaslovské Bohunice Meteorological Tower Jaslovské Bohunice 212 1986 Meteorological tower of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe Karlsruhe 200 1972 Rödeser Berg Meteorological Mast Wolfshagen 200 2011 KFU-Tower Gundremmingen Gundremmingen 174 1978 KFU-Mast Grafenrheinfeld Grafenrheinfeld 164 1978 for the measurement of meteorological parameters and environmental radioactivity Mast of Richard Assmann Observatory Falkenberg 99 1998 Mast of Asbach Obrigheim dismantled Oskar-von-Miller-Tower Garching 62 2010 Mast of Dukovany Nuclear Power Station Dukovany Košetice Meteorological Tower Košetice 250 2012 Hegyhátsál TV Tower Hegyhátsál 117 transmission tower equipped with instruments for the measurement of meteorological parameters and carbon dioxide concentration Norunda tower Uppsala County 103 Puijo tower Kuopio 75 1963 NAVO-Toren Veurne 243
Other measurement towers Aerial test facility Brück, Brück, Germany BREN Tower, Nevada Test Site, USA
Wind farm development
Before developers construct a wind farm, they first measure the wind resource on a prospective site by erecting temporary measurement towers. Typically these mount anemometers at a range of heights up to the hub height of the proposed wind turbines, and log the wind speed data at frequent intervals (e.g. every ten minutes) for at least one year and preferably two or more. The data allow the developer to determine if the site is economically viable for a wind farm, and to choose wind turbines optimized for the local wind speed distribution.
See also Automatic weather station#Mast Guyed mast Radio masts and towers Truss tower
References