The role of radar wind profilers in ornithology

Abstract

In the past 70 years radar technology has been increasingly applied in ornithological research in various geographical areas worldwide and has contributed greatly to a better understanding of bird migration. Many different radar types have been used, such as tracking, ship or weather radars. However, radar wind profilers (RWPs) have been largely neglected in avian research. RWPs continuously measure three‐dimensional winds and, despite the low frequency range at which these systems operate, available literature provides evidence that birds are recorded at many sites. So far the potential of RWPs in ornithological research has not been fully explored and studies deal predominantly with birds in the context of clutter removal. However, based on their broad implementation in networks (e.g. E‐PROFILE in Europe) situated in areas that are strategically important for bird migration, they could offer a valuable complement to already established or planned large‐scale bird monitoring schemes by radar. The objective of this paper is to serve as a reference for those who wish to consider RWP data in a biological context. To that end, we provide an overview of the evolution and establishment of operational RWPs as well as of their mode of operation, in order to depict their role in meteorology and to evaluate their potential in ornithology. The assessment is based on available literature on RWPs and radar ornithology outlining the past, present and potential future role of wind profilers. In the past, birds were discarded as contamination and eliminated as far as possible from the meteorological data. Only recently have the echo signatures of biological targets been scrutinized thoroughly in raw data and used successfully for ornithological investigation. On this basis it is possible to consider the potential future utility of this promising data source as a complement to other remote‐sensing instruments and other sampling techniques used in avian research. Weather independence of ornithological information was found to be a particular benefit. However, as the development of the bird‐specific method is only in an early stage, more detailed studies are necessary in the future to fully assess the potential of this type of radar.