Such an interesting term as “wind rose” has become an inspiration for creative people. Wind rose is an international term. To compile it, you need the observations of meteorologists for some time, any writing instrument, calculator and ruler.
What is a wind rose?
The wind rose is a vector diagram by which you can determine the direction, strength of the wind at a certain point on the planet. It is constantly used in meteorological and climatic calculations. Its appearance resembles a rose: a polygon with rays diverging from the center, proportional to the direction of the winds.
Many people think that the wind willfully and changeably change its own direction, but this is not so. Thanks to the wind rose, meteorologists have learned to understand the basic patterns of air flow directions, which make weather forecasts for the near future.
A wind rose is necessary when marking up runways of airports, roads, and building settlements (to determine the location of buildings). With its help, the location of residential and industrial areas relative to each other is estimated, and a huge number of other tasks of an economic nature, such as forest plantations, park structures, etc., are solved.
If the wind rose was built according to observations, then it can be used to determine the main directions of the prevailing winds at the moment. It has strong differences between the lengths of the rays. The heraldic concept of a wind rose with uniform rays is fundamentally wrong - it is nothing more than the usual geographical designation of arcs of the mathematical horizon, depicted as rays.
The chart can also show the frequency of winds at a certain time of the year, strength, duration of winds. The wind rose can indicate average and maximum values, combine arcs of several parameters at the same time.
Interesting fact: wind was first used as a source of energy in the 1st century AD. Then he performed mechanical work in the form of a windmill, which was designed by Heron. The windmill was designed to provide energy to the body. After 6 centuries, real windmills appear in the Arab countries (the Sistan region at the junction of two countries - Iran and Afghanistan).
What is a wind rose for?
It is very important to know the main directions of the winds. They may be needed for:
- forecasting weather changes (according to the main locations of warm and cold winds they predict changes in weather conditions in the warm or cold direction);
- planning for the long-term development of residential facilities (information on the prevailing air flow allows locating populated and industrial areas in such a way as not to poison the population with polluted air);
- determining the orientation of the walls of structures, entrances, decorative elements (all this will allow to keep heat in living quarters in winter, the orientation of the entrances should be opposite to the winds);
- orientation of the runways, so that it would be easier for aircraft to take off and land.
In fact, there are a lot of options for using such a diagram. It is used in various fields of human activity.
Interesting fact: on the territory of Lake Baikal discovered more than 30 air currents with their own name. The most famous are: Barguzin, Sarma and Kultuk. Locals say that each stream has its own distinctive features. In winter, the wind blows from the land, and in summer - from the lake. This feature is characteristic of sea coasts. The strongest winds blow in late autumn and spring, and the weakest in early summer. The storm state of the lake is observed in August and autumn.
How to build a wind rose?
To compose the simplest wind rose, you don’t need so much: a visual instrument, a ruler, a calculator, and weather observation information. Initially, the paper outlines the main and additional axes, indicating the cardinal points. There are 4 of them: north, west, south, east and intermediate designations.
After that, a suitable scale is chosen at which the number of days is postponed when the wind blew in this direction. These data can be found on the pages of public meteorological calendars, other reliable sources. It is important to choose a scale so that the chart fits on the sheet, is not too small or large.
If at some time there was calm weather, then they are marked on the axes with dots with a note (the number of these days). After rebuild their own wind rose. To do this, connect the points on the axes, forming a single figure - an irregular polygon. It can remain open in cases where the wind has not been a whole period. At the end of the rose you can give color. The longest rays of the rose show the prevailing air flow directions in a particular area.
What is wind and how is it measured?
Wind is a horizontal air flow resulting from an uneven distribution of atmospheric pressure and moving parallel to the earth's surface. Wind is one of the most important natural phenomena. In ancient times, mankind deified every natural phenomenon, not knowing its origin. At the moment, the wind has been thoroughly investigated, scientists know all the data about it, they know the nature of the occurrence, the patterns of air flow directions. The wind is studied by representatives of the physical, meteorological and geographical sciences.
The wind moves parallel to the surface of the earth. The main characteristics of air flow: power, speed and direction. The first two factors measure the anemometers, and the direction of the weather vane, which is installed on the roof home.
Interesting fact: the world celebrates wind day, which falls on June 15 every year. Two world organizations initiated the celebrations: the Wind Energy Council, the European Wind Energy Association. This was done in order to draw public attention to the potential of wind energy. The holiday was approved in 2007 by Western countries. Two years later, he became international.
The story of the wind rose
Meteorologists invented a legend about a girl named Rosa. She was distinguished by a windy character and was an employee of a weather station. However, in fact, the term "wind rose" appeared much earlier, in ancient times.
For the first time, the symbol was used by seafarers as their own professional emblem, as a navigation star. The wind greatly helped any sailor. They determined their location by a traveling star, and the wind only helped in this.
According to its direction and features, in a certain season, captains corrected courses with high accuracy, confidently guided their sea vessels to distant countries, making round-the-world voyages. The first real diagrams appeared on maps for maritime navigation of the 15th century, called portolans. Before that, they looked like a stylization of an ordinary compass.
The concept of "wind rose" is also in heraldry, but there it is portrayed incorrectly. Such an element can be found on the arms of cities, logos of various well-known organizations. On them, the rose is depicted with the same rays and serves as a decorative element. Unlike the symbol, the rays on the diagram have a different value, which directly depends on the frequency of windy days.
Now very popular are the images of the emblem as tattoos.Drawings on the skin are considered a good guard against misfortunes for people traveling on a long journey (travelers, long-distance sailors and truckers). He gives them confidence in the loyalty of the chosen route, as well as a successful return home.
In meteorology, the rose has a business character, telling the basic information necessary for forecasting. According to the orders of interested contractors, meteorologists predict the prevailing winds for a certain period of time.
