New bird radar tracks patterns

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jon K. Scudder
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AFPN) --  A bird-radar system here is a step toward the future of being able to advise air-traffic controllers and pilots of bird activity in the base’s airspace.

“The bird-radar program could go amazing places,” said Herman Griese, 3rd Civil Engineer Squadron wildlife biologist. The system will be able to monitor bird migrations and how they affect the flying community, he said.

People here understand how serious bird strikes can be.

Twenty-four Americans and Canadians were killed when an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft crashed on takeoff here Sept. 22, 1995, after striking a skein of geese.

While the bird-radar system in its current configuration may not have prevented the crash, the technology is improving, and it could potentially provide real-time advisories to aviators in the future, Griese said.

Until then, the driving force behind this technology to prevent bird-strike accidents includes developing accurate bird-density patterns to forecast daily bird migrations.

The bird-radar project originated with the Navy officials and was developed in the early 1990s. It funded five systems for experimental use at several military installations.

Elmendorf’s experience with bird-radar systems began in 1996 when a firm was contracted by the Air Force. They were asked to collect baseline bird-movement information and check the feasibility of a bird-radar system here to reduce bird air strikes.

The study showed the radar was marginally useful for ground-based bird detection and dispersal activities, but it held promise for providing real-time bird-hazard advisories to pilots. It also promised the development of a bird-avoidance model.

After a six-year hiatus, plans to obtain a more permanent system began in 2002. Officials requested to participate in the research and to get the system.

Data collected have already reinforced and expanded previous findings on daily bird-migration patterns passing through airspace here, Griese said.

The mobile system is contained in a small utility trailer. A revolving satellite dish, atop a wheeled cart and attached by a 100-foot umbilical chord, can be quickly positioned outside the trailer. The technology inside the trailer allows wildlife experts to observe and document patterns of bird activity.

It apparently has the capability of detecting sparrow-size birds out to one-and-a-half miles and larger birds as far as five miles, Griese said. However, the system is influenced by moisture in the air. Thus, the frequency of rain during Alaska’s fall bird migration hinders scanning for birds, he said.

“In spite of weather conflicts this fall, we were able to observe much higher bird densities than those reported (previously),” Griese said.

The average densities increased from less than one bird or flock within the sampled airspace during daylight to more than 70 during the peak sampling, which occurred every five minutes.

“Keep in mind these numbers are a fraction of the actual numbers of birds in the air. The radar is designed to sample less than 5 percent of the airspace out to the limits of bird detection. And typically we monitor no farther than three nautical miles and 4,000 feet above ground level,” Griese said. “The extrapolated number of birds in the air at peak densities we observed should be a grave concern for pilots.”

Griese said he plans on developing a research and monitoring program for the base that will routinely collect information during spring and fall migrations. The goal is to have enough information to predict trends in bird migration patterns.

He said this information will be shared with the bird aircraft strike hazard program manager here, who will coordinate with flight operations to make Elmendorf safer for its aircrews.

Safety officials said they are encouraged by recent developments in bird radar.

“Although we are in the early phase of incorporating the bird radar into our … program, it has already demonstrated great potential in helping to create a safer airfield environment for our aircrews and aircraft,” said Capt. Nate Vogel, of the 3rd Wing’s safety office.

Griese said he sees the present system as a useful instrument until technologies develop to allow real-time pilot advisories.

“The real strength of the current system lies in (its) ability to detect birds outside the visual-detection zone,” Griese said. “It will easily complement our current ground-based bird detection and dispersal activities and ultimately enhance overall flight safety.”