ANALYSIS OF WIND CHARACTERISTICS IN THE MALTESE ARCHIPELAGO

The Maltese Islands enjoy a typical Mediterranean climate with hot, hu mid summers and cooler winters. The size of the islands as well as the ir location between Europe and the African continent makes them suscep tible to wind currents induced by these comparatively huge land masses as well as to small scale localised effects induced by the islands th emselves. The latter effects would be more marked in generally undistu rbed conditions which enhance the formation of breezes. The wind data evaluated in this paper was gathered at Luqa International Airport (La t. 35 degrees 51.5'N, Long. 14 degrees 28.5'E). Due to its long time f rame (1947 to date), this database is appropriate for the evaluation o f wind parameters on a long-term basis. Characteristics such as the di urnal trends, as well as parameters relevant to power generation will be discussed and illustrated. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.