scholarly journals Drivers of fatal bird collisions in an urban center

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (24) ◽  
pp. e2101666118
Author(s):  
Benjamin M. Van Doren ◽  
David E. Willard ◽  
Mary Hennen ◽  
Kyle G. Horton ◽  
Erica F. Stuber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Strong Support ◽  
Light Output ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Bird Mortality ◽  
Nocturnal Migration ◽  
Window Area ◽  
Migrating Birds ◽  
Bird Collisions

Millions of nocturnally migrating birds die each year from collisions with built structures, especially brightly illuminated buildings and communication towers. Reducing this source of mortality requires knowledge of important behavioral, meteorological, and anthropogenic factors, yet we lack an understanding of the interacting roles of migration, artificial lighting, and weather conditions in causing fatal bird collisions. Using two decades of collision surveys and concurrent weather and migration measures, we model numbers of collisions occurring at a large urban building in Chicago. We find that the magnitude of nocturnal bird migration, building light output, and wind conditions are the most important predictors of fatal collisions. The greatest mortality occurred when the building was brightly lit during large nocturnal migration events and when winds concentrated birds along the Chicago lakeshore. We estimate that halving lighted window area decreases collision counts by 11× in spring and 6× in fall. Bird mortality could be reduced by ∼60% at this site by decreasing lighted window area to minimum levels historically recorded. Our study provides strong support for a relationship between nocturnal migration magnitude and urban bird mortality, mediated by light pollution and local atmospheric conditions. Although our research focuses on a single site, our findings have global implications for reducing or eliminating a critically important cause of bird mortality.

scholarly journals Influence of Meteorological Conditions and Aerosol Properties on the COVID-19 Contamination of the Population in Coastal and Continental Areas in France: Study of Offshore and Onshore Winds

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 523
Author(s):  
Jacques Piazzola ◽  
William Bruch ◽  
Christelle Desnues ◽  
Philippe Parent ◽  
Christophe Yohia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Meteorological Conditions ◽  
Sea Spray ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Virus Transport ◽  
Virus Propagation ◽  
Viral Particles ◽  
The Social ◽  
Aerosol Properties

Human behaviors probably represent the most important causes of the SARS-Cov-2 virus propagation. However, the role of virus transport by aerosols—and therefore the influence of atmospheric conditions (temperature, humidity, type and concentration of aerosols)—on the spread of the epidemic remains an open and still debated question. This work aims to study whether or not the meteorological conditions related to the different aerosol properties in continental and coastal urbanized areas might influence the atmospheric transport of the SARS-Cov-2 virus. Our analysis focuses on the lockdown period to reduce the differences in the social behavior and highlight those of the weather conditions. As an example, we investigated the contamination cases during March 2020 in two specific French areas located in both continental and coastal areas with regard to the meteorological conditions and the corresponding aerosol properties, the optical depth (AOD) and the Angstrom exponent provided by the AERONET network. The results show that the analysis of aerosol ground-based data can be of interest to assess a virus survey. We found that moderate to strong onshore winds occurring in coastal regions and inducing humid environment and large sea-spray production episodes coincides with smaller COVID-19 contamination rates. We assume that the coagulation of SARS-Cov-2 viral particles with hygroscopic salty sea-spray aerosols might tend to inhibit its viral infectivity via possible reaction with NaCl, especially in high relative humidity environments typical of maritime sites.

The influence of weather conditions on mid-field ponds situated in a reclaimed area in Sępopolska Plain

2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ireneusz Cymes ◽  
Iwona Cymes ◽  
Ewa Dragańska ◽  
Sławomir Szymczyk
Keyword(s):  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Ammonium Nitrogen ◽  
Water Evaporation ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Natural Reservoir ◽  
Quality Of Water ◽  
Water Ph ◽  
Chlorine Ions ◽  
Agricultural Areas

The influence of weather conditions on mid-field ponds situated in a reclaimed area in Sępopolska PlainThe investigations were conducted in northeastern Poland near Lidzbark Warmiński (54° 08" N, 20° 36" E). Five mid-field ponds situated on grasslands were chosen: four of them were dredged and deepened, and one of them remained as a natural reservoir. The aim of this paper was to assess the influence of weather conditions on the quantity and quality of water in mid-field ponds situated in agricultural areas. It was found that the quantity of water in mid-field ponds was related much more to the air temperature, which was responsible for either water evaporation or snow melting, rather than to the amount of precipitation. The reduction in the volume of water stored in the ponds during very dry years had a negative influence on its quality. During the observation period, the dredged ponds were characterized by permanent water tables, whereas the natural reservoir dried out in very dry years. Atmospheric conditions influenced the concentrations of ammonium nitrogen and calcium and chlorine ions in the studied water bodies. The volume of water retained in mid-field ponds influenced the concentrations of phosphorus and sulphates. Increased precipitation sums caused lower water pH; however in warmer periods, at increased pH and COD

scholarly journals Meteorology in field artillery ballistic calculations

2021 ◽  
Vol 2090 (1) ◽  
pp. 012149
Author(s):  
M Mendel
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Pressure ◽  
Open Space ◽  
Meteorological Parameters ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Single Probe ◽  
Atmospheric Data

Abstract The most important meteorological data are:ambient temperature, precipitation quantity, air humidity, amount and type of clouds, atmospheric pressure, wind direction and speed, visibility, weather phenomena. These coefficients impact the effectiveness of various combat activities, especially those conducted in an open space. Knowledge of future weather conditions is essential for planning the location, calculating times, choice of means, and other aspects relevant to the upcoming operations. Taking weather conditions into account is vital, specifically when it comes to planning combat operations, where the accuracy in cooperation is of paramount importance. Rocket forces and artillery is a particular type of armed forces where weather conditions are critical. The effectiveness of artillery depends on ballistic calculation precision, and so knowledge of atmospheric conditions is fundamental. Atmospheric data are collected from sounding using a single probe attached to a balloon. It is generally known that particular meteorological parameters change in a smooth spatial manner depending on various coefficients. Information about the atmosphere collected by a single probe may be insufficient, due to the possibility of a balloon drifting away from the area of interest, and the calculations are based on data received from its probe. In this paper, I will suggest a method for preparing artillery use meteorologically, which takes into account the distribution of particular meteorological coefficients over a given area.

scholarly journals Grassland communities in the USA and expected trends associated with climate change

2016 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Paul Belesky ◽  
Dariusz Piotr Malinowski
Keyword(s):  
Net Primary Productivity ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Plant Resources ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Grassland Communities ◽  
Growing Conditions

Grasslands, including managed grazinglands, represent one of the largest ecosystems on the planet. Managed grazinglands in particular tend to occupy marginal climatic and edaphic resource zones, thus exacerbating responses in net primary productivity relative to changes in system resources, including anthropogenic factors. Climate dynamism, as evident from the fossil record, appears to be a putative feature of our planet. Recent global trends in temperature and precipitation patterns seem to differ from long-term patterns and have been associated with human activities linked with increased greenhouse gas emissions; specifically CO<span><sub>2</sub></span>. Thus grasslands, with their diverse floristic components, and interaction with and dependence upon herbivores, have a remarkable ability to persist and sustain productivity in response to changing resource conditions. This resistance and resilience to change, including uncertain long-term weather conditions, establishes managed grasslands as an important means of protecting food security. We review responses of grassland communities across regions of the USA and consider the responses in productivity and system function with respect to climatic variation. Research is needed to identify plant resources and management technologies that strengthen our ability to capitalize upon physiological and anatomical features prevalent in grassland communities associated with varying growing conditions.

scholarly journals Groping in the fog: soaring migrants exhibit wider scatter and do not properly adjust their flight in response to wind under low visibility conditions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Becciu ◽  
Michele Panuccio ◽  
Giacomo Dell'Omo ◽  
Nir Sapir
Keyword(s):  
Flight Speed ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Cost Of Transport ◽  
Migration Direction ◽  
Low Visibility ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Migrating Birds ◽  
Behaviour Changes

Atmospheric conditions are known to affect flight propensity, behaviour during flight, and migration route in birds. Yet, the effects of fog have only been rarely studied, although they could disrupt orientation and hamper the accomplishment of the journey. Soaring migrants modulate their flight speed and direction in relation to the wind vector to optimize the cost of transport. Fog could limit the visibility of migrating birds such that they might not be able to detect landmarks that guide them during their journey. Consequently, landmark-based orientation, as well as adjustments of flight speed and direction in relation to wind conditions, could be jeopardized when flying in fog. Using a radar system that operated in a migration bottleneck (Strait of Messina, Italy), we studied the behaviour of soaring birds under variable wind and fog conditions over two consecutive springs (2016 and 2017), discovering that migrating birds exhibited a wider scatter of flight directions and responded differently to wind conditions under fog conditions. Birds flying through fog deviated more from the mean migration direction and increased their speed with increasing crosswinds. In addition, airspeed and groundspeed increased in the direction of the crosswind, causing a lateral drift of the individuals. Furthermore, the response to tailwind was opposite to that predicted by optimal migration theory. Our findings represent the first quantitative empirical evidence of flight behaviour changes when birds migrate through fog and explain why low visibility conditions could risk their migration journey.

Capacity of Optical Wireless System over Log-Normal Channels with Spatial Diversity in Presence of Atmospheric Losses

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahul Kaushik ◽  
Vineet Khandelwal ◽  
R.C. Jain
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Turbulence ◽  
Channel Capacity ◽  
Random Variable ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Spatial Diversity ◽  
Closed Form Expression ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Optical Wireless ◽  
Diversity Techniques ◽  
Log Normal

Abstract In this paper, average channel capacity of optical wireless communication system is evaluated under the combined effect of geometrical loss, attenuation due to weather conditions and weak atmospheric turbulence using a simple closed form expression. Fading induced due to atmospheric turbulence is modeled by log-normal distribution. Considering the fact that the sum of log-normal random variables can be well approximated by another log-normal random variable, the proposed expression has been utilized to compute the channel capacity for spatial diversity reception employing maximum ratio combining and equal gain combining over uncorrelated turbulence-induced fading conditions. It is shown that spatial diversity is an effective technique to mitigate the impairments caused by various atmospheric conditions such as haze, rain and fog. The quantitative improvement in channel capacity achieved by using diversity techniques is investigated and compared. Accuracy of the results is validated with exact results computed using Monte Carlo simulation.

scholarly journals Seasonal changes in the altitudinal distribution of nocturnally migrating birds during autumn migration

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
pp. 150347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank A. La Sorte ◽  
Wesley M. Hochachka ◽  
Andrew Farnsworth ◽  
Daniel Sheldon ◽  
Benjamin M. Van Doren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Migratory Bird ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Altitudinal Distribution ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Intermediate Distance ◽  
Migrating Birds

Wind plays a significant role in the flight altitudes selected by nocturnally migrating birds. At mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, atmospheric conditions are dictated by the polar-front jet stream, whose amplitude increases in the autumn. One consequence for migratory birds is that the region’s prevailing westerly winds become progressively stronger at higher migration altitudes. We expect this seasonality in wind speed to result in migrants occupying progressively lower flight altitudes, which we test using density estimates of nocturnal migrants at 100 m altitudinal intervals from 12 weather surveillance radar stations located in the northeastern USA. Contrary to our expectations, median migration altitudes deviated little across the season, and the variance was lower during the middle of the season and higher during the beginning and especially the end of the season. Early-season migrants included small- to intermediate-sized long-distance migrants in the orders Charadriiformes and Passeriformes, and late-season migrants included large-bodied and intermediate-distance migrants in the order Anseriformes. Therefore, seasonality in the composition of migratory species, and related variation in migration strategies and behaviours, resulted in a convex–concave bounded distribution of migration altitudes. Our results provide a basis for assessing the implications for migratory bird populations of changes in mid-latitude atmospheric conditions probably occurring under global climate change.

scholarly journals Extreme storm surges in the south of Brazil: atmospheric conditions and shore erosion

2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cláudia Klose Parise ◽  
Lauro Júlio Calliari ◽  
Nisia Krusche
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Beach Erosion ◽  
Storm Events ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
The South ◽  
Level Elevation ◽  
South Of Brazil

The region under study is regularly subject to the occurrence of storms associated with frontal systems and extratropical cyclones, since it is located near one of the cyclogenetic regions in South America. These storms can generate storm surges that cause anomalous high sea level rises on Cassino Beach. The use of reanalysis data along with an efficient technique for the location of the cyclone, using a vorticity threshold, has provided a new classification based upon the trajectories of events that produce positive sea level variation. Three patterns have been identified: 1) Cyclogenesis to the south of Argentina with displacement to the east and a trajectory between 47.5ºS and 57.5ºS; 2) Cyclogenesis to the south of Uruguay with displacement to the east and a trajectory between 35ºS and 42.5ºS; and 3) Cyclogenesis to the south of Uruguay with displacement to the southeast and a trajectory between 35ºS and 57.5ºS. Maximum water level elevation above the mean sea level and beach erosion were associated, respectively, with winter and summer storms. Cassino beach displayed a seasonal morphological behavior, with short periods of episodic erosion associated with winter storm events followed by long periods of accretion characterized by the dominance of fair weather conditions.

scholarly journals Weaver-Birds’ crop-Raiding Behavior in Buea municipality, Southwest Region, Cameroon

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melle Ekane Maurice
Keyword(s):  
Elaeis Guineensis ◽  
Mangifera Indica ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Crop Raiding ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Rainy Weather ◽  
Cloudy Weather ◽  
Raiding Behavior

The entire surface of the earth is visited by the birds in view of their aerial flights and variable habitats in search of suitable breeding and feeding grounds. Flight, intelligence, adaptability and sight are some of the attributes that add to the diversity in the life of birds, consequently there is complexity in their overall behavioral pattern. The key objective of this study was to assess the weaver-bird crop-raiding activity in Buea municipality on different environmental parameters. The study was undertaken for three months, six days in a week, from 7:00am to 6:00pm. Scan observations were made on birds’ activity on a five-minute interval period across the entire study area. Simultaneously, data was collected on the environmental conditions. The study recorded a significant association between weaver-bird activity on crop-land, X2 = 11.653 df=14, P < 0.005 and X2 = 3.441 df=4, P<0.05 respectively. There was weaver-bird activity frequency of 51.63%, 45.35%, and 3.02% for Ploceus luteolus, Ploceus cuculatus, and Ploceus melanocephalus respectively. Moreover, a week association between bird activity and weather, X2 = 3.125 df=3, P<0.05 was recorded. The sunny and cloudy weather conditions recorded 53.26%, and 42.09% respectively, while the windy and rainy weather conditions were significantly low (3.26%). An association was recored between atmospheric conditions and weaver-birds’ activity on crops, X2 = 23.249 df=21, P<0.05. In addition, the most destroyed farms were Elaeis guineensis (32.33%), Saccharum officinarum (19.77%), Zea mays (17.44%), and Mangifera indica (15.58%) respectively, and the scale of destruction was very prominent on the foliage used by the birds for nest-building. Maize crops and oil-palms were among the crop species most subjected to destruction by birds. These crops were observed with poor foliage formation and fruits, consequently they withered, and since the local farming population in this municipality predominantly cultivates these crops most, a heavy toll is often taken on the annual farmers’ income.

scholarly journals Possibility of use Artemisia austriaca Jacq. as an indicator of environmental pollution by certain heavy metals

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-39
Author(s):  
Yulia M. Kanibolotskaya
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Active Species ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Industrial Enterprises ◽  
State Of The Environment

Due to the increasing negative impact of anthropogenic factors on the state of the environment in man-made regions, the possibility of using Artemisia austriaса Jacq. as an indicator of contamination of industrial areas by some heavy metals and transformation of plant communities under the influence of human activities is being considered. In order to achieve the objective of the study, the content of heavy metals (Ti, Mn, Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Sr); in plant metals (A. austriaса) and soil samples selected in the suburbs of Pavlodar and Aksu (Pavlodar region, Kazakhstan) is analyzed at different distances from existing industrial enterprises. Geobotanic studies have also been carried out (using classical methods). A. austriaca, being a digressive-active species, under human-induced conditions often becomes a dominant or subdominant in plant communities (in regions where it has historically been represented in little abundance). Therefore, its capacity to accumulate some heavy metals (according to our research results – Zn and Cr) can be used (taking into account the distance from the source of emissions, age of plants, features of nanorelief and weather conditions) to determine the presence of contamination of industrial (or adjacent) areas, especially in areas of operation of metallurgical enterprises.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document