Evaluating Spatial Distribution of Wind Speed Using Geostatistical Methods and Cluster Analyze

Abstract

Wind causes temperature and humidity displacement and also increases evaporation rate. Geostatistical methods because of theirs high accuracy in local estimation of geographical parameters and capability on reducing sampling number are suitable methods to determine the spatial interpolation of hydro-meteorological parameters such as wind speed. In this study, firstly, geostatistical interpolation methods were compared to estimate wind speed. Secondly different parts of Khozestan province were classified based on the wind speed, using cluster analysis. Finally, squared Euclidean Distance method was applied to determine the degree of similarity of stations. And also, Ward method was used for merging the stations. The results indicated that the maximum wind velocity occurred in the southern areas during cold months of the year and speed of wind in the northern parts of the study area was less than the other parts all over the year. Furthermore, 9 wind speed maps were developed based on stations cluster classification. The results of this research can be applied in order to identify the suitable places for sprinkle irrigation usage.

Keywords

• wind speed
• euclidean distance
• ward method
• geostatistics
• khozestan