Reconstructing Velocities of Migrating Birds from Weather Radar – A Case Study in Computational Sustainability

Authors

  • Andrew Farnsworth Cornell University
  • Daniel Sheldon University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Jeffrey Geevarghese University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Jed Irvine Oregon State University
  • Benjamin Van Doren Cornell University
  • Kevin Webb Cornell University
  • Thomas G. Dietterich Oregon State University
  • Steve Kelling Cornell University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1609/aimag.v35i2.2527

Abstract

Bird migration occurs at the largest of global scales, but monitoring such movements can be challenging. In the US there is an operational network of weather radars providing freely accessible data for monitoring meteorological phenomena in the atmosphere. Individual radars are sensitive enough to detect birds, and can provide insight into migratory behaviors of birds at scales that are not possible using other sensors. Archived data from the WSR-88D network of US weather radars hold valuable and detailed information about the continent-scale migratory movements of birds over the last 20 years. However, significant technical challenges must be overcome to understand this information and harness its potential for science and conservation. We describe recent work on an AI system to quantify bird migration using radar data, which is part of the larger BirdCast project to model and forecast bird migration at large scales using radar, weather, and citizen science data.

Author Biographies

Andrew Farnsworth, Cornell University

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Benjamin Van Doren, Cornell University

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Kevin Webb, Cornell University

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Steve Kelling, Cornell University

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Published

2014-06-19

How to Cite

Farnsworth, A., Sheldon, D., Geevarghese, J., Irvine, J., Van Doren, B., Webb, K., Dietterich, T. G., & Kelling, S. (2014). Reconstructing Velocities of Migrating Birds from Weather Radar – A Case Study in Computational Sustainability. AI Magazine, 35(2), 31-48. https://doi.org/10.1609/aimag.v35i2.2527

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Articles