Portable towers provide insight on frost characteristics and predict benefits of wind machines
Abstract
Frost events occur by radiation or advection processes. The relative tendency for the different types of frosts to occur has critical importance for implementing appropriate protection measures. Wind machines in particular will generate greater warming at the crop level under stronger inversion conditions associated with radiation frosts. Measuring the characteristics of frost conditions beforehand can enable farmers to make informed decisions on expensive investments in wind machines. An inexpensive and highly portable method for measuring inversion conditions between 1.5 m and 10.7 m heights was first developed in 2010. The method has subsequently been used to evaluate springtime frost and inversion conditions at the farm and regional scales in coastal California vineyard regions with the ultimate goal of determining the potential utility of wind machines in areas where little direct experience is otherwise available. Some vineyard operations have built their own towers using instruction materials developed in this effort, while other operations collaborate with University staff to borrow the towers for temporary use. With the temperature inversion information measured, growers have been able to make informed decisions to invest in dozens of wind machines since this effort began.
Issue: GiESCO 2017
Type: Extended abstract
Format: Poster
Authors
1 University of California Cooperative Extension; 2156 Sierra Way, Suite C; San Luis Obispo, California, 93401 USA
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Keywords
frost, temperature inversion, radiation, advection, wind machine