Title: Multifractal analysis of the time series of daily means of wind speed in complex regions,
Abstract: In this paper, we applied the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis to
the daily means of wind speed measured by 119 weather stations distributed over
the territory of Switzerland. The analysis was focused on the inner time
fluctuations of wind speed, which could be more linked with the local
conditions of the highly varying topography of Switzerland. Our findings point
out to a persistent behaviour of all the measured wind speed series (indicated
by a Hurst exponent significantly larger than 0.5), and to a high
multifractality degree indicating a relative dominance of the large
fluctuations in the dynamics of wind speed, especially in the Swiss plateau,
which is comprised between the Jura and Alp mountain ranges. The study
represents a contribution to the understanding of the dynamical mechanisms of
wind speed variability in mountainous regions.