KLOT in Romeoville, Illinois

USING RADAR [NEXRAD] TO DELINEATE MIGRATORY BIRD MOVEMENT CORRIDORS

Rick Sojda, Wildlife BiologistRick Sojda, Wildlife BiologistUSGS - Northern Rocky Mountain Science CenterUSGS - Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

John Paxton, ProfessorJohn Paxton, ProfessorComputer Science - Montana State UniversityComputer Science - Montana State University

Robb Diehl, Postdoctoral FellowRobb Diehl, Postdoctoral FellowBiological Sciences - University of Southern MississippiBiological Sciences - University of Southern Mississippi

Robert Klaver, Wildlife BiologistRobert Klaver, Wildlife BiologistUSGS - EROS Data CenterUSGS - EROS Data Center

Erickson et alErickson et al. . (2001) reassessed U.S. turbine (2001) reassessed U.S. turbine impact, based on more than 15,000 turbines impact, based on more than 15,000 turbines (some 11,500 in California), and estimated (some 11,500 in California), and estimated mortality in the range ofmortality in the range of 10,000 to 40,000 10,000 to 40,000 (mean = 33,000), with an average of (mean = 33,000), with an average of 2.19 2.19 avian fatalities/turbine/yravian fatalities/turbine/yr. and 0.033 raptor . and 0.033 raptor fatalities/turbine/yr.fatalities/turbine/yr.

……while in Europe, Winkelman (1992) estimated while in Europe, Winkelman (1992) estimated mortality at mortality at 0.1 to 37 birds/turbine/yr0.1 to 37 birds/turbine/yr..

NEXRAD Site MapNEXRAD Site Map

Doppler Doppler –– high range / low high range / low resolutionresolution– – best for wide area best for wide area

studiesstudies(habitat usage, regional (habitat usage, regional

studies)studies)

Kinds of Radar Used

Detecting bird exodus

• Daily movements to and from a roost- Time of day, direction, distance, areas used

• Seasonal migration patterns - Time of year, stopover sites, corridors used

Information Obtained via Radar

NEXRAD moments today

??????Can birds be detected algorithmically in NEXRAD data? Some inherent challenges include: birds per unit volume delineating species; individuals time series obstructions uncertainties representing 3D airspace as a 2D map

Can we build a decision support tool to help in evaluating wind power farm proposals?

NEXRAD data could be mined to identify migration corridors and patterns as they existed over the past 15 years. Expert knowledge could be encoded to predict the effects of wind power projects. Can real-time analysis of NEXRAD data be used by the industry in the operation of wind farms to minimize bird strikes in any fashion? Is real-time monitoring of bird migration possible to help evaluate the evolving risk of avian influenza?

NREL Photo

…and the future