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(IVAR) - Final Report - Strategic Environmental Research and ...

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temporal domain by recording all bird tracks at a given facility for a period of one week or<br />

longer.<br />

3.1.2.1.2 Samples Birds 360° in Field Of View [PB2.1]<br />

Another advantage of radar as a sampling tool for birds is its ability to sample throughout a full<br />

360° field of view around the radar. We designed Criterion PB2.1 to demonstrate this capability<br />

by showing that the numbers of birds tracked at various bearings from the radar were roughly the<br />

same over the course of a year (to allow for differences in diurnal <strong>and</strong> seasonal distribution of the<br />

birds).<br />

3.1.2.1.3 Samples Out To 6 Nautical Miles [SB3.1]<br />

Criteria PA4.1 (Section 3.1.1.1.4) <strong>and</strong> PA5.1 (Section 3.1.1.1.5) were designed to demonstrate<br />

that avian radar systems can track birds within <strong>and</strong> immediately beyond the perimeter of most<br />

military airfields. We designed Criterion SB3.1 to demonstrate they can track birds out to a<br />

range of 11 km (6 nmi). This distance was chosen because one of the design specifications for<br />

the original BirdRad avian radar system was to sample in the range 0-11 km (0-6 nmi).<br />

3.1.2.1.4 Efficiently Stores Bird Track Information [PB4.1]<br />

Recording a wide range of parameters for hundreds-to-thous<strong>and</strong>s of birds that are being tracked<br />

7/24, with a new track record being generated for each target 24 times a minute, could generate a<br />

volume of data that might overwhelm conventional data storage media. Criterion PB4.1 was<br />

designed to demonstrate that a year’s worth of plots <strong>and</strong> tracks data from a continuously operating<br />

avian radar system could be stored on a conventional data storage device.<br />

3.1.2.1.5 Increase in Number of Birds Sampled [PB5.1]<br />

One would assume that digital avian radar systems, with their ability to sample continuously, day<br />

<strong>and</strong> night, through a 360° field-of-view, over ranges of 0-11 km <strong>and</strong> up to altitudes of a<br />

kilometer would sample more birds than visual observers using conventional sampling methods.<br />

We designed Criterion PB5.1 to test that assumption <strong>and</strong> we set as our success criterion that the<br />

radar would detect <strong>and</strong> track twice as many birds as the human observers.<br />

3.1.2.1.6 Samples Up To 3000 Feet [SB6.1]<br />

Being able to track migrating birds is an important capability for both the natural resources<br />

management <strong>and</strong> the air safety applications for avian radar systems. Because migrating birds<br />

often fly at altitudes up to a kilometer (~3000 feet) or more, we designed Criterion SB6.1 to<br />

demonstrate that digital avian radar systems can track birds at those altitudes.<br />

3.1.2.2 Qualitative Performance Criteria<br />

The performance objectives discussed in the following subsections were designed to evaluate<br />

sampling protocols qualitatively, with success criteria that could be defined in terms of<br />

“Achieved” or “Not Achieved”.<br />

3.1.2.2.1 Sampling Of Diurnal <strong>and</strong> Seasonal Bird Activity Patterns [PB1.2]<br />

One advantage of digital avian radar systems is that they sample continuously day <strong>and</strong> night, <strong>and</strong><br />

therefore can be used to build up historical records of short-, intermediate-, <strong>and</strong> long-term<br />

temporal bird activity patterns. To demonstrate this capability of the Accipiter® avian radar<br />

systems evaluated by the <strong>IVAR</strong> project, we proposed to use the plots <strong>and</strong> tracks data for a 24-<br />

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