Use of Portable Radar to Monitor Flying Animals in the Offshore Environment Active
USGS will deploy a small, portable radar aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel to measure the abundance, geographic distribution, and flight altitude of birds migrating across the continental shelf of the northern Gulf.
The Science Issue and Relevance: Over two billion birds representing some 500 species use habitats near or over the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) for all or part of the year. Bird abundance peaks during spring and fall migrations and the northwestern Gulf, especially areas offshore of Texas and Louisiana, hosts one of the greatest concentrations of birds in North America. While much is known about bird distributions in terrestrial habitats, the abundance and distribution of birds over the open Gulf remains poorly understood.
Birds over the open Gulf face risks from inclement weather, predation, starvation, and collisions with existing offshore infrastructure. Proposed offshore wind energy development (WED) presents an additional risk (e.g., collision-related mortality) to migratory and resident birds including species listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
Using boat-based portable radar surveys during fall migration, we will collect data on the abundance, distribution, and flight altitude of birds moving over the Gulf to aid in the siting of WED and to inform offshore management and regulatory practices. Radar is one of the few remote sensing technologies capable of capturing these data both day and night and the use of portable radar ensures data collection at geographic locations that directly address specific management and regulatory needs related to offshore WED.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: In fall 2023, we will deploy a small, portable radar aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel to measure the abundance, geographic distribution, and flight altitude of birds migrating across the continental shelf of the northern Gulf. This survey area directly overlaps proposed locations spanning the northwestern shelf under consideration by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for offshore wind energy development. Data collection will occur between August and October. The radar will be modified for biological data collection from a moving platform by integrating motion compensation, sea clutter mitigation, and advanced methods of target discrimination into a single radar platform suitable for the offshore environment. Radar operation will vary systematically between rotating and stationary sampling modes to capture data on avian speed, direction, range, and discrimination of targets into broad categories. Ideally, human observers will supplement and corroborate radar observations with taxon-specific information on distribution and behavior. Study results will inform on the siting, mitigation, and post-construction impact of WED on birds in the Gulf.
Future Steps: Data from this study will support a separate initiative to deploy biological radars on oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico in fiscal year 2024.
USGS will deploy a small, portable radar aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel to measure the abundance, geographic distribution, and flight altitude of birds migrating across the continental shelf of the northern Gulf.
The Science Issue and Relevance: Over two billion birds representing some 500 species use habitats near or over the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) for all or part of the year. Bird abundance peaks during spring and fall migrations and the northwestern Gulf, especially areas offshore of Texas and Louisiana, hosts one of the greatest concentrations of birds in North America. While much is known about bird distributions in terrestrial habitats, the abundance and distribution of birds over the open Gulf remains poorly understood.
Birds over the open Gulf face risks from inclement weather, predation, starvation, and collisions with existing offshore infrastructure. Proposed offshore wind energy development (WED) presents an additional risk (e.g., collision-related mortality) to migratory and resident birds including species listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
Using boat-based portable radar surveys during fall migration, we will collect data on the abundance, distribution, and flight altitude of birds moving over the Gulf to aid in the siting of WED and to inform offshore management and regulatory practices. Radar is one of the few remote sensing technologies capable of capturing these data both day and night and the use of portable radar ensures data collection at geographic locations that directly address specific management and regulatory needs related to offshore WED.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: In fall 2023, we will deploy a small, portable radar aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel to measure the abundance, geographic distribution, and flight altitude of birds migrating across the continental shelf of the northern Gulf. This survey area directly overlaps proposed locations spanning the northwestern shelf under consideration by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for offshore wind energy development. Data collection will occur between August and October. The radar will be modified for biological data collection from a moving platform by integrating motion compensation, sea clutter mitigation, and advanced methods of target discrimination into a single radar platform suitable for the offshore environment. Radar operation will vary systematically between rotating and stationary sampling modes to capture data on avian speed, direction, range, and discrimination of targets into broad categories. Ideally, human observers will supplement and corroborate radar observations with taxon-specific information on distribution and behavior. Study results will inform on the siting, mitigation, and post-construction impact of WED on birds in the Gulf.
Future Steps: Data from this study will support a separate initiative to deploy biological radars on oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico in fiscal year 2024.