TY - GEN
T1 - MODELING REGIONAL CLIMATE IMPACTS OF A PROPOSED HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT
AU - Sailor, David J.
AU - Rosen, Jesse N.
N1 - Funding Information:
Computational resources and support with model implementation were provided by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The authors would like to thank Margarita Maria Echeverri Posada of ISA- GEN for supplying some of the data needed for this project and J. Ricardo Munoz for serving as a liaison and translator. One author (JNR) would like to acknowledge the Louisiana State Board of Regents for financial assistance through a fellowship.
Publisher Copyright:
© 1998 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). All rights reserved.
PY - 1998
Y1 - 1998
N2 - This paper is a preliminary analysis of the potential for atmospheric thermal pollution from a man- made reservoir. The specific site for the study is a proposed hydroelectric project on the Sogamoso River in Colombia, S.A. The region is agricultural with the two staple crops being coffee and cocoa. These two crops are sensitive to both high temperatures and more dramatically to high humidity levels. Farmers from the region are concerned that the construction of the reservoir w i l l negatively impact crop yield. We have used a numerical atmospheric model to simulate weather from the region both without and with the proposed reservoir. Simulations show the magnitude of the impact is too small to be of consequence to crop yield. With these results we draw conclusions about the potential impact of the reservoir on climate. This paper provides a brief introduction to the theory behind the climatic consequences of a large lake. Results are then discussed for two time periods, one during the rainy growing season and one during the dry season. One of the biggest uncertainties in the model boundary conditions arises from the specification of the lake temperature, so the sensitivity of the model to lake temperature is analyzed for one of the study dates. Finally it is shown how a small set of weather simulations are used to draw climatic conclusions.
AB - This paper is a preliminary analysis of the potential for atmospheric thermal pollution from a man- made reservoir. The specific site for the study is a proposed hydroelectric project on the Sogamoso River in Colombia, S.A. The region is agricultural with the two staple crops being coffee and cocoa. These two crops are sensitive to both high temperatures and more dramatically to high humidity levels. Farmers from the region are concerned that the construction of the reservoir w i l l negatively impact crop yield. We have used a numerical atmospheric model to simulate weather from the region both without and with the proposed reservoir. Simulations show the magnitude of the impact is too small to be of consequence to crop yield. With these results we draw conclusions about the potential impact of the reservoir on climate. This paper provides a brief introduction to the theory behind the climatic consequences of a large lake. Results are then discussed for two time periods, one during the rainy growing season and one during the dry season. One of the biggest uncertainties in the model boundary conditions arises from the specification of the lake temperature, so the sensitivity of the model to lake temperature is analyzed for one of the study dates. Finally it is shown how a small set of weather simulations are used to draw climatic conclusions.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85124347397&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85124347397&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1115/IMECE1998-0669
DO - 10.1115/IMECE1998-0669
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85124347397
T3 - ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Proceedings (IMECE)
SP - 341
EP - 346
BT - Heat Transfer
PB - American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
T2 - ASME 1998 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, IMECE 1998
Y2 - 15 November 1998 through 20 November 1998
ER -