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Mike Sandiford

@msandifo.bsky.social

5 followers 13 following 29 posts

eternal husband/father/grandfather/sailor/scientist/walker (inc. among communities that for millennia have lived in the most dynamic and remote parts of our planet and some places beyond). https://msandifo.github.io/

Geology 34%

Environmental science 28%

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Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 24

hmmm - should read "wind farm distance from coastline."

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 24

to simplify - it says "go inland, go north for best returns on wind farm investment."

all about inland nocturnal wind intensification associated with the development of heat toughs (aka drylines).

No reason to suspect we have anywhere near the best sites to pick up low level nocturnal jets!

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 24

One of the most intriguing diagrams I have produced in a while ... at least for NEM/RE aficionados.
N* (y-axis) is ratio of midnight ± 3 hours to midday ±3 hours generation for QLD, NSW and VIC wind farms over the 12 months to end June 2025.
x-axis is wind farm dance from coastline.

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 22

as documented - Howell, Jackson, England, Higham, Synolakis, Late Holocene uplift of Rhodes, Greece: evidence for a large tsunamigenic earthquake and the implications for the tectonics of the eastern Hellenic Trench System, GJI, 203, Issue 1, 2015, 459–474, doi.org/10.1093/gji/...

Late Holocene uplift of Rhodes, Greece: evidence for a large tsunamigenic earthquake and the implications for the tectonics of the eastern Hellenic Trench System

Abstract. Several large earthquakes in the Hellenic subduction zone have been documented in historical records from around the eastern Mediterranean, but t

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 22

so would appear Rhodos is tilting north down, south up - which is not at all surprising given it sits above the eastern end of the Aegean slab. (Nice earthquake record on the south coast)

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 22

which contrasts inland wind which has a prominent nocturnal peak*, and therefore will suffer less economic curtailment (but currently lacks transmission ...) *best exemplified by QLD but is true also of inland NSW and VIC

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 22

partly because southern coast wind production shows little diurnal variability ...

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 22

presumably - also reflecting the increases in economic curtailment of wind, which is an emerging issue especially for southern coast wind farms ...

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 17

cf. north coast Rhodos, where solution notches are at, and below, sea level- eg. Kopria Beach

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 17

and Agathi Beach

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 17

Elevated Solution notches - Lindos (south coast of Rhodos)

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 17

Agathi Beach

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 17

The Accursed Mountains (Peaks of the Balkans Trail) - Valbonё – Çerem, Albania, (photo taken on side track to Vusanje, Montenegro)

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 17

Laugevegur trail - Markarfljótsgljúfur Canyon at Emstrur

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 17

Laugavegur Trail - view over Lake Álftavatn (on trail section from Hrafntinnusker to Álftavatn)

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jul 17

VIC1 spot and prices and demand, by hour of day (y-axis) and day of year (x-axis), for 12 months to end June '25.

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · May 5

The amazing Channel country rivers in flood (courtesy Copernicus browser Sentinel-2).

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Apr 28

Western desert magic (Sentinel 2, L2A Moisture Index)

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jan 30

whereas the former is dominated by southern ocean storms, the latter is dominated by low level nocturnal jets associated with the development of the northern Australian dryline.

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Jan 30

Cf southern VIC wind farm forecast generation v inland QLD across 2024/ location matters

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Nov 24

Uh oh!

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Nov 21

Stay tuned as the www.superpowerinstitute.com.au delves into the wonders of LLNJs (low level nocturnal jets).

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Nov 21

The complimentarity between inland nocturnal winds and daytime solar, especially so in central Queensland (and I suspect inland NW WA), there should be much to excite new investment … and provide new guidelines for appropriate transmission investment to capture the opportunity.

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Nov 21

So what gives? Why does nocturnal wind generation correlate with diatnce from coast? Has to do with the development of low level nocturnal jets associated with inland drylines, as invetsigated by Arnup and Reeder "The structure and evolution of the northern Australian dryline”, amongst others.

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Nov 21

Similar relations hold for the Victorian farms. Turns out the further inland you go, the more the wind farms produce at night.

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Nov 21

So what gives with wind farm production? Here is the yearly average by time of day for NSW and QLD wind farms (expressed in capacity factor terms) and ordered by distance from the coast.

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Nov 20

Anyone who follows the NEM surprised by this? (shouldn’t be)

N* - Ratio of wind farm forecast dispatch overnight to daytime.

% VWP - volume weighted price of (forecast) wind farm dispatch.

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Nov 20

1000 days now passed

Mike Sandiford @msandifo.bsky.social · Nov 19

Back to the lathe