ERIES-LIDAR

2024 - 2025

W

Wind Eng.

Hrvoje Kozmar

Branko Grisogono

Djordje Romanic

Massimiliano Burlando

Maria Pia Repetto

Alessio Ricci

2024 - 2025

W

Wind Eng.

Lidar measurements of Ligurian downslope windstorms

ERIES-LIDAR

Wind comfort

Wind loads

Aerodynamic forces

Urban model

Dataset Description

This dataset contains continuous Doppler-wind lidar measurements of Ligurian downslope winds (DW) that flow from the Maritime Alps and Apennines towards the Mediterranean Sea through the Turchino valley, where the Port of Genoa, Italy is located. The data set was acquired between December 2024 and March 2025 in the framework of ERIES Transnational Access project ERIES-LIDAR (Lidar measurements of Ligurian downslope windstorms). Measurements were taken with Vaisala WindCube 400S Doppler lidar scanner (2018 version) installed in the Port of Genoa (44.4175°N, 8.7768°E) at the end of a long quay 5 m above sea level. During the measurement period, 6 DW events were observed.

Two predefined scanning strategies were operated cyclically: (i) eight Range Height Indicator (RHI) scans at azimuthal angles between 295◦ and 330◦ (step 5◦) with elevation ranging from 0◦ to 15◦ with resolution of 0.5◦, (ii) five Plan Position Indicator (PPI) scans at the fixed elevations between 2.5◦ and 15◦ (step 2.5◦) covering azimuthal angles ranging from 295◦ to 330◦ with resolution of 0.5◦. The measurements were sampled along the LiDAR beam using 100 m intervals, starting from 300 m to about 14 km from the instrument.

The campaign comprises six sub-campaigns - T1 (3–6 December 2024; 8 RHI), T2 (7-13 December 2024; 8 RHI), T3 (13-14 December 2024; 8 RHI + 5 PPI), T4 (6-10 February 2025; 8 RHI + 5 PPI), T5 (19-20 February 2025; RHI only azimuth 320°), and T6 (1-5 March 2025; 8 RHI + 5 PPI). In total, the campaign produced more than 38,000 NetCDF-4 files (CF/Radial 2.0).

The dataset supports the research aimed at improving the understanding Ligurian DW and enables comparison of Ligurian DW to other, more investigated DW events around the world.

scanning LiDAR

downslope winds

Specimens

1. Vaisala WindCube 400S - WLS400s-118

6

The specimen for this measurement campaign is the pulsed scanning Doppler lidar WindCube400S developed and manufactured by Vaisala and operated by the Giovanni Solari Wind Engineering and Structural Dynamics (GS-WindDyn) research group of the University of Genoa.

The LiDAR operates with a standard pulsed laser with wavelength of 1.54 µm. The operational distance is about 14 km. The system provides radial velocity measurements with typical spatial resolution of 75–200 m along the line of sight, depending on the measurement configuration.

It also supports multiple scanning strategies including:

1. RHI (Range Height Indicator): laser beam scans vertically by changing elevation angles at fixed azimuthal angle, providing vertical cross-section of the wind along one direction - used here to depict development of vertical profile of DW from the mountains towards the sea.

2. PPI (Plan Position Indicator): laser beam scans horizontally at the set elevation angle by changing azimuthal angles, producing a map of the wind field over the area - used here primarily to understand the channeling and horizontal wind patterns.

Since the Turchino Valley is to the north-west of the instrument, the LiDAR is able to capture DWs approaching from azimuthal directions between 290◦ and 360◦.

1. T1 (3–6 December 2024)

During T1, the LiDAR ran a continuous, repeating cycle of 8 RHI scans. Each full cycle lasted about 4 minutes, providing near-continuous coverage of the vertical wind field. Scanning strategy:

• 8 RHI scans at azimuths 295◦, 300◦, 305◦, 310◦, 315◦, 320◦, 325◦, 330◦, each sweeping elevation 0◦ → 15◦ at 0.5 ◦ angular resolution. Range 300-14000 m, 138 gates, 100 m gate-to-gate spacing.

Instrumentation

Vaisala WindCube 400S - WLS400s-118

2. T2 (7– 13 December 2024)

During T1, the LiDAR ran a continuous, repeating cycle of 8 RHI scans. Each full cycle lasted about 4 minutes, providing near-continuous coverage of the vertical wind field. Scanning strategy:

• 8 RHI scans at azimuths 295◦, 300◦, 305◦, 310◦, 315◦, 320◦, 325◦, 330◦, each sweeping elevation 0◦ → 15◦ at 0.5 ◦ angular resolution. Range 300-14000 m, 138 gates, 100 m gate-to-gate spacing.

Instrumentation

Vaisala WindCube 400S - WLS400s-118

3. T3 (13-12 December 2024)

During T3, the LiDAR ran a continuous, repeating cycle of 8 RHI scans + 5 PPI scans. Each full cycle lasted about 10 minutes, providing near-continuous coverage of the vertical and horizontal wind field. Scanning strategy:

• 8 RHI scans at azimuths 295◦, 300◦, 305◦, 310◦, 315◦, 320◦, 325◦, 330◦, each sweeping elevation 0◦ → 15◦ at 0.5 ◦ angular resolution. Range 300-14000 m, 138 gates, 100 m gate-to-gate spacing.

• 5 PPI scans sweeping azimuth 295°→330° at 0.5◦ resolution at fixed elevations of 2.5◦, 3◦, 3.5◦, 4◦, 4.5◦, 5◦, 5.5◦, 6◦, 6.5◦, 7◦, 7.5◦, 8◦, 8.5◦, 9◦, 9.5◦, 10◦, 10.5◦, 11◦, 11.5◦, 12◦, 12.5◦, 13◦, 13.5◦, 14◦, 14.5◦, 15◦. Same range gate resolution as RHI scans.

Instrumentation

Vaisala WindCube 400S - WLS400s-118

4. T4 (6-10 February 2025)

During T4, the LiDAR ran a continuous, repeating cycle of 8 RHI scans + 5 PPI scans. Each full cycle lasted about 10 minutes, providing near-continuous coverage of the vertical and horizontal wind field. Scanning strategy:

• 8 RHI scans at azimuths 295◦, 300◦, 305◦, 310◦, 315◦, 320◦, 325◦, 330◦, each sweeping elevation 0◦ → 15◦ at 0.5 ◦ angular resolution. Range 300-14000 m, 138 gates, 100 m gate-to-gate spacing.

• 5 PPI scans sweeping azimuth 295°→330° at 0.5◦ resolution at fixed elevations of 2.5◦, 3◦, 3.5◦, 4◦, 4.5◦, 5◦, 5.5◦, 6◦, 6.5◦, 7◦, 7.5◦, 8◦, 8.5◦, 9◦, 9.5◦, 10◦, 10.5◦, 11◦, 11.5◦, 12◦, 12.5◦, 13◦, 13.5◦, 14◦, 14.5◦, 15◦. Same range gate resolution as RHI scans.

Instrumentation

Vaisala WindCube 400S - WLS400s-118

5. T5 (19-20 February 2025)

During T5, the LiDAR ran a continuous, repeating cycle of 1 RHI scan. Each full cycle lasted about 1 minute, providing near-continuous coverage of the vertical wind field. Scanning strategy:

• 1 RHI scan at azimuth of 320◦ sweeping elevation 0◦ → 15◦ at 0.5 ◦ angular resolution. Range 300-14000 m, 138 gates, 100 m gate-to-gate spacing.

Instrumentation

Vaisala WindCube 400S - WLS400s-118

6. T6 (1-5 March 2025)

During T6, the LiDAR ran a continuous, repeating cycle of 8 RHI scans + 5 PPI scans. Each full cycle lasted about 10 minutes, providing near-continuous coverage of the vertical and horizontal wind field. Scanning strategy:

• 8 RHI scans at azimuths 295◦, 300◦, 305◦, 310◦, 315◦, 320◦, 325◦, 330◦, each sweeping elevation 0◦ → 15◦ at 0.5 ◦ angular resolution. Range 300-14000 m, 138 gates, 100 m gate-to-gate spacing.

• 5 PPI scans sweeping azimuth 295°→330° at 0.5◦ resolution at fixed elevations of 2.5◦, 3◦, 3.5◦, 4◦, 4.5◦, 5◦, 5.5◦, 6◦, 6.5◦, 7◦, 7.5◦, 8◦, 8.5◦, 9◦, 9.5◦, 10◦, 10.5◦, 11◦, 11.5◦, 12◦, 12.5◦, 13◦, 13.5◦, 14◦, 14.5◦, 15◦. Same range gate resolution as RHI scans.

Instrumentation

Vaisala WindCube 400S - WLS400s-118