ARDC Research Link Australia

ORCID Profile
Orcid icon. 0000-0003-4559-2049

Current Organisations
Fiji National University , Illinois Institute of Technology

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Publications

Publication

Evaluation of the WRF model for simulating surface winds and the diurnal cycle of wind speed for the small island state of Fiji

Publisher: IOP Publishing

Date: 09-2020

DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/1618/6/062025

Abstract: Evaluation of the performance of the WRF model is carried out for simulating the surface winds and the diurnal cycle of wind speed for the small island developing state of Fiji at a 1.33 km by 1.33 km grid resolution using 1deg gridded data from NCEP-FNL. Simulations are performed for an austral summer (January 2017) and an austral winter (July 2017) month using the dynamical downscaling and the two-way nested approach. A set of physics parameterization schemes together with topo_wind = 1, 2 and ysu_topdown_pblmix = 1 physics settings associated with YSU PBL scheme are used to correct the surface winds and the diurnal cycle of wind speed. The results reveal that the WRF model is able to capture the surface winds and the diurnal cycle of wind speed on the windward side. Surface winds on the leeward side and the outer islands, show positive bias especially at nighttime for January and at both the day and night time for July. The statistical evaluation of all stations for January (July) showed a bias of 1.16 m/s (1.89 m/s), RMSE of 2.40 m/s (3.14 m/s), STDE of 1.88 m/s (2.08 m/s) and diurnal cycle correlation of 0.74 (0.68) using topo_wind = 2 and ysu_topdown_pblmix = 1.

Publication

High-resolution mesoscale wind-resource assessment of Fiji using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 10-2021

DOI: 10.1016/J.ENERGY.2021.121047

Publication

An analysis of the 10 MW Butoni wind farm in the Tropical Southwest Pacific Island of Fiji

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Date: 02-02-2022

DOI: 10.1177/0309524X221075808

Abstract: This study carries out an analysis of the 10 MW Butoni wind farm in the tropical southwest Pacific island of Fiji using 6 years of uninterrupted near-surface wind observations (2013–2018). The standard wind-industry software, WAsP is used to analyse and evaluate the wind characteristics of the wind farm and the surrounding areas. The modelled and operational AEP are discussed with the related economic analysis together with the main causes for the under-performance of the wind farm. The results revealed that the mean wind speed, power density and the AEP at the Butoni wind farm are below the utility-scale standard of 6.4 m/s, 300 W/m 2 and 500 MWh/year/turbine respectively, at 55 m above ground level (AGL). The main reason for the under-performance of the wind farm is that it was commissioned for a low mean wind speed regime of Wind Power Class 1. The wind farm has a lower-than-expected capacity factor of 5.4% and a higher wind shear coefficient of 0.35. An economic analysis revealed that the payback time is 24.5 years, and the cost of energy generation is FJD $ 0.55/kWh.

Publication

Structure and mechanism of LARGE1 matriglycan polymerase

Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Date: 12-05-2022

DOI: 10.1101/2022.05.12.491222

Abstract: Matriglycan is a linear polysaccharide of alternating xylose and glucuronate that binds extracellular matrix proteins and acts as a receptor for Lassa fever virus. LARGE1 synthesizes matriglycan on dystroglycan and mutations in LARGE1 cause muscular dystrophy with abnormal brain development. However, the mechanism of matriglycan polymerization by LARGE1 is unknown. Here, we report the cryo-EM structure of LARGE1. We show that LARGE1 functions as a dimer to polymerize matriglycan by alternating activities between the xylose transferase domain on one protomer and the glucuronate transferase domain on the other protomer. Biochemical analyses using a recombinant Golgi form of dystroglycan reveal that LARGE1 polymerizes matriglycan processively. Our results provide mechanistic insights into LARGE1 function and may facilitate novel therapeutic strategies for treating neuromuscular disorders or arenaviral infections. Dimeric LARGE1 processively polymerizes matriglycan on dystroglycan using orthogonal active sites on alternate protomers.

Publication