Measurement tower

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The measurement tower of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe

A measurement tower or measurement mast, also known as meteorological tower or meteorological mast (met tower or met mast), is a free standing tower or a removed mast, which carries measuring instruments with meteorological instruments, such as thermometers and instruments to measure wind speed. Measurement towers are an essential component of rocket launching sites, since one must know exact wind conditions for an execution of a rocket launch. Met masts are crucial in the development of wind farms, as precise knowledge of the wind speed is necessary to know how much energy will be produced, and whether the turbines will survive on the site. Measurement towers are also used in other contexts, for instance near nuclear power stations, and by ASOS stations.

## Examples

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### Meteorology

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Structure  | City or region  | Country  | Height (metres)  | Year built  | Notes

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Amazon Tall Tower Observatory | Vila de Balbina |  Brazil | 325 | 2015 | [1]
IAP Meteorological Tower | Beijing |  China | 325 | 1979 | for meteorological measurements, studies of air pollution and studies of the atmospheric boundary layer
Obninsk Meteorological tower | Obninsk |  Russia | 310 | 1958 | for meteorological and radioactivity measurements
Zotino Tall Tower Observation Facility | Zotino |  Russia | 302 |  | for measurements of meteorological variables and of concentration of greenhouse gases and aerosols
KNMI-mast Cabauw | Cabauw |  Netherlands | 213 | 1972 | for meteorological research
Jaslovské Bohunice Meteorological Tower | Jaslovské Bohunice |  Slovakia | 212 | 1986 | [2]
Meteorological tower of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe | Karlsruhe |  Germany | 200 | 1972 |
Rödeser Berg Meteorological Mast | Wolfshagen |  Germany | 200 | 2011 |
KFU-Tower Gundremmingen | Gundremmingen |  Germany | 174 | 1978 |
KFU-Mast Grafenrheinfeld | Grafenrheinfeld |  Germany | 164 | 1978 | for the measurement of meteorological parameters and environmental radioactivity
Mast of Richard Assmann Observatory | Falkenberg |  Germany | 99 | 1998 |
Mast of Asbach | Obrigheim |  Germany |  |  | dismantled
Oskar-von-Miller-Tower | Garching |  Germany | 62 | 2010 |
Mast of Dukovany Nuclear Power Station | Dukovany |  Czech Republic |  |  |
Košetice Meteorological Tower | Košetice |  Czech Republic | 250 | 2012 | [3]
Hegyhátsál TV Tower | Hegyhátsál |  Hungary | 117 |  | transmission tower equipped with instruments for the measurement of meteorological parameters and carbon dioxide concentration
Norunda tower | Uppsala County |  Sweden | 103 |  | [4]
Puijo tower | Kuopio |  Finland | 75 | 1963 |
NAVO-Toren | Veurne |  Belgium | 243 |  | [5]

### Other measurement towers

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* Aerial test facility Brück, Brück, Germany
* BREN Tower, Nevada Test Site, USA

### Wind farm development

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Before developers construct a wind farm, they first measure the wind resource on a prospective site by erecting temporary measurement towers. Typically these mount anemometers at a range of heights up to the hub height of the proposed wind turbines, and log the wind speed data at frequent intervals (e.g. every ten minutes)[6] for at least one year and preferably two or more. The data allow the developer to determine if the site is economically viable for a wind farm, and to choose wind turbines optimized for the local wind speed distribution.

## See also

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* Automatic weather station#Mast
* Guyed mast
* Radio masts and towers
* Truss tower

## References

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1. ^ "ATTO inauguration ceremony in the Brazilian rain forest".
2. ^ "Jaslovské Bohunice Meteorological Tower, Trnava | 1226337". Emporis. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
3. ^ "Košetice Meteorological Mast, Košetice | 1298696". Emporis. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
4. ^ "Fluxnet".
5. ^ "Zendmast Jump Trading Houtem, Houtem | 1225959". Emporis. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
6. ^ "Anemometer Loan Programs". Wind Powering America, NREL, USDOE. 2009-09-01. Archived from the original on 2010-04-25. Retrieved 2010-05-04.