Apparent wind in knots and degrees. Note that a number of additional factors come into play when converting the measurements from the masthead anemometer into the true wind if a high degree of accuracy is required, including the following: In the presence of a current, the true wind is considered to be that measured on the craft drifting with the water over the bottom, and wind with respect to the sea bed as the "ground" or "geographical wind". The apparent wind on board (a boat) is often quoted as a speed measured by a masthead transducer containing an anemometer and wind vane
Wind gradient Wind gradient In common usage, wind gradient, more specifically wind speed gradient or wind velocity gradient, or alternatively shear wind, is the vertical gradient of the mean horizontal wind speed in the lower atmosphere. It is the rate of increase of wind strength with unit increase in height above ground level. In metric units, it is often measured in units of meters per second of speed, per kilometer of height (m/s/km), which reduces to the standard unit of shear rate, inverse seconds (s). Surface friction forces the surface wind to slow and turn near the surface of the Earth, blowing