Wind rose - what is it? Views, examples, meaning, and chart history

This unusually beautiful scientific term in many people is associated with romance, adventure and travel. The wind rose ... What is it, who and when did it come up? Where is this chart used? And how correctly to draw a wind rose? Our article will tell about all this.

What is the wind and how is it measured

One of the most important phenomena in nature is the wind. In ancient times, people could not explain the essence of this phenomenon, so often personified it in the form of various deities. Today scientists with full responsibility can say what the wind is and what its nature is. This phenomenon is studied by representatives of such sciences as physics, meteorology, geography. The wind rose just helps scientists to systematize and present in compressed form the results of long-term observations of this phenomenon in a specific locality.

Since the school day, we know that the wind is a horizontal flow of air, resulting from an uneven distribution of atmospheric pressure and moving parallel to the earth's surface. It is characterized by such parameters as force, direction and speed. The strength and speed of the wind is measured with a special device - an anemometer, and its direction - with a weather vane.

In order to determine the wind regime in a specific locality (that is, from where and how often it blows during a month or a year), a special diagram was invented - a wind rose. What it is? And how to make it right? This will be discussed later.

Rose of the winds: pictures and description

This beautiful scientific term has long been "put an eye" by artists, poets and even masters of tattoos. At the same time, its original meaning is completely prosaic and casual. The term is widely used in geography, meteorology, climatology, wind power, construction and some other areas of scientific and practical life of man. So, the wind rose - what is it?

Wind rose is a special type of vector diagrams that help to characterize the wind regime in a specific locality and for a certain period of time (month, year or several years). Externally, such a diagram resembles a polygon, broken into eight (or more) rumbles - on the main sides of the world. What does the classic wind rose look like? The photo below will give you a visual representation of this.

Any wind rose is built on the basis of real meteorological observations. By the length of the rays of the polygon, one can easily determine the direction of the prevailing winds in a given locality (village, city, region). So, for example, if in the village N 120 of 365 days a year the wind blows from the north, then the corresponding ray in the chart will be the longest.

The history of the wind rose

Meteorologists came up with a funny legend about a certain girl Rosa, who worked at a weather station and had a rather "windy" character. Hence the alleged name of the term "Wind Rose".

In fact, the history of this symbol goes back to antiquity. Initially it was used by seafarers as its professional emblem. The wind was an important assistant to any experienced sailor. Knowing its direction and seasonal features, the captain accurately corrected the course and confidently led his ship into distant voyages.

It is worth noting that the first full-fledged rose winds began to appear on portolans (navigational charts) of the XV century. Before that, they were more like the stylized arrows of a conventional compass.

Such a concept as the "wind rose" exists in heraldry. For example, this element can be found on some city coats of arms, as well as on the emblems of such famous organizations as the CIA or NATO.

Recently, the image of the wind rose is very popular in the form of a tattoo. Such a pattern applied to the skin is considered an excellent amulet for travelers, truckers and, of course, for sailors.

Types and examples of the use of rose winds

There are two main types of this mathematical diagram. This is a classic graphical and numerical wind rose. The last diagram is supplemented by the corresponding numerical values indicating the number of days in the year in which the wind of a certain direction was blowing.

Most often, meteorology uses 8-beam or 16-beam diagrams. But sometimes you can meet and roses winds, consisting of 360 rays. Many diagrams are generated using special computer programs. They look something like this.

The schedule of wind rose is applied in various scientific disciplines and spheres of human activity. Among them are:

• meteorology;
• geography;
• climatology;
• Town planning;
• ecology;
• agronomy;
• Forestry and park economy.

The wind rose is always taken into account when laying motor roads, building runways, planning residential areas. They are also used in the compilation of weather forecasts.

Drawing "The Wind Rose". How to build it correctly

To compose the most elementary wind rose, you will need a little: a simple pencil, ruler, meteorological data and a calculator for calculations.

First, you need to draw on paper four axes: the two main (north-south and west-east) and two additional (north-west-south-east and north-east-south-west). Next, you should select the appropriate scale for your future chart and begin to postpone on each of the axes the number of days in which the wind blew in that direction. For example, if the north wind was observed 15 days a year, then on the corresponding ray of the chart, 15 divisions should be noted.

After this, you can proceed to the most pleasant part of the work - to build the actual rose winds. To do this, you need to connect points on all axes of the diagram (in the case of the standard 8-beam diagram there should be eight of them) into a single figure. In the end, for greater clarity, this figure should be obscured by some color.

It's very fast and easy to build a wind rose with the help of the standard Microsoft Excel program. To do this, you need to select a special type of diagram - "Petal".

Finally

Wind rose - what is it? Now you can definitely give a detailed answer to this question. This is a vector diagram characterizing the wind regime for a particular territory. The construction of wind roses is actively practiced in meteorology, geography, ecology, agronomy, construction, forestry, etc.