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Characterizing observed surface wind speed in the Hudson Bay and Labrador regions of Canada from an aviation perspective

  • Special Issue: Biometeorological Insights from the Students & New Professionals of the ISB
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Abstract

Wind speed analysis is important for informing airport operation and safety. Many communities in the Hudson Bay and Labrador regions (Canada) are remote communities that rely heavily on aircraft for passenger and freight movement. Historical trends in average daily wind speed and maximum daily wind speed from 1971 to 2010 were examined to identify patterns of change and determine how these changes may influence aviation in six northern communities across Hudson Bay and Labrador in Canada. Significant increases in average wind speed and maximum wind speed were found for some of the months and seasons of the year for the Hudson Bay region, along with a significant decrease in those variables for the Labrador communities. Average wind speeds at multiple locations are approaching the threshold (18.5 km/h or 10 knots) when take-off and landing would be restricted to one direction. The results of this study agree with previous research that examined historical patterns for wind speed in these regions but calls into question climate change impact assessments that suggest wind speeds will continue to increase under future climatic conditions for this study area. Future research is needed to further analyse shifts in prevailing wind directions and changes in the frequency of extreme wind conditions, to better understand the potential impacts of projected climate change on this climatic variable and the implications these changes may have on applied sectors, such as aviation.

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Data availability

The datasets analysed in this study are available in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Climate Data Online archives (https://climate.weather.gc.ca/).

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Marcelo Ponce from SciNet HPC Consortium for his assistance with data computation on General Purpose Cluster (GPC) supercomputer.

Funding

This research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) grant number RGPIN-2018-06801.

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Correspondence to Andrew C. W. Leung.

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Leung, A.C.W., Gough, W.A., Butler, K.A. et al. Characterizing observed surface wind speed in the Hudson Bay and Labrador regions of Canada from an aviation perspective. Int J Biometeorol 66, 411–425 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-020-02021-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-020-02021-9

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