Bird Migration, Doppler Radar, 2002
It has been estimated by ornithologists that in the dark green radar reflectivity areas (25-30 DBZ), nearly 10,000 birds per mile are crossing over. A National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) unit was constructed near Key West in the 1990s. The Key West WSR-88D has proven to be an extremely valuable meteorological tool, assisting weather forecasters at the NWS forecast office in Key West with discerning the location and strength of a variety of weather phenomena, including severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, waterspouts, and tropical systems. The Key West WSR-88D also can detect the location and movement of another natural phenomenon; namely, birds. Every year during the Spring, several species of birds migrate northward through the Florida Keys from their winter habitats in the tropics. The numerous mud flats and mangrove islands surrounding the Florida Keys offer a perfect rest stop for some of these migrating birds. Others just pass right on over the island chain toward their summer habitats to the north. Similarly, every Autumn birds migrate southward through the Florida Keys, back to their winter habitats. Over 16 species of raptors migrate through the Keys each year, with more peregrine falcons migrating through the Keys than anywhere else in the United States. Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Image compiled using data from the WSR-88D in Key West, Florida on April 28, 2002.
Size: 3300px × 3300px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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