2023-12-23 14:48:56
Anyone who wants to better understand the processes in the lowest layer of the atmosphere has to resort to unusual methods. Because many regions seem inaccessible, measuring on site is particularly difficult over the oceans.
Now a new field assistant is supposed to help: the banded frigatebird, Fregata minor. Birds equipped with sensors are intended to collect temperature profiles over the open Pacific.
The researchers conducted a study at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco to prove that the feathered assistants can actually help them. They had equipped the seabirds, which were up to one meter tall, with a “backpack” containing tiny sensors that recorded not only the flight altitude but also the temperatures of the lowest layer of the atmosphere. The birds’ flight was not disturbed by the sensors.
A large part of daily weather events takes place in the so-called atmospheric boundary layer, which, depending on wind and temperature conditions, can extend from the ground to a height of two kilometers. Changes occur here over the course of the day due to solar radiation, so warm air rises in the midday hours and mixing occurs. The boundary layer then extends to greater heights. “Many weather and climate processes are related to this fluctuation.
Solar cells supply the transmitter with electricity. : Image: Abram Fleishman
“So understanding these dynamics is fundamental to answering many questions about the Earth system,” says Ian Brosnan, a marine scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center and lead author of the study. Brosnan wanted to see whether the banded frigatebird could be helpful in studying the boundary layer. “I immediately thought that the birds could fly to the top of the boundary layer, turn around and come back down.” This was based on observations by ecologist and study co-author Morgan Gilmour, who used sensor-equipped banded frigatebirds to check whether the animals that live on the Pacific Palmyra Atoll are actually adequately protected by a protection zone. He noticed that the birds not only traveled long distances, but also varied their altitude. Typically they fly at an altitude of less than 700 meters. However, they use rising air to glide at altitudes of 2,000 to 4,000 meters.
Frigate birds are excellent and impressive fliers with a wingspan of two meters. : Image: picture alliance / imageBROKER
By evaluating the GPS and altitude sensors of the marked birds, the researchers were now able to confirm that the birds’ flight patterns correspond to the fluctuations in the near-Earth boundary layer height known from long-term monitoring.
During their flights, the birds map the boundary layer and collect valuable temperature data. In contrast to satellite measurements, they also provided data in cloudy weather. “These novel approaches to using animal tracking data can help NASA measure the planetary boundary layer and improve climate, weather and air quality predictions,” Brosnan said.
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The banded frigatebirds also provide data from remote regions in the tropical Pacific that are not constantly monitored by satellites. The project is part of the “Internet of Animals”, in which a wide variety of animal species, from grasshoppers to elephants, have been equipped with transmitters and monitored from space since 2020.
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