Aeroecology meets aviation safety: early warning systems in Europe and the Middle East prevent collisions between birds and aircraft

Abstract

The aerosphere is utilized by billions of birds, moving for different reasons and from short to great distances spanning tens of thousands of kilometres. The aerosphere, however, is also utilized by aviation which leads to increasing conflicts in and around airfields as well as en‐route. Collisions between birds and aircraft cost billions of euros annually and, in some cases, result in the loss of human lives. Simultaneously, aviation has diverse negative impacts on wildlife. During avian migration, due to the sheer numbers of birds in the air, the risk of bird strikes becomes particularly acute for low‐flying aircraft, especially during military training flights. Over the last few decades, air forces across Europe and the Middle East have been developing solutions that integrate ecological research and aviation policy to reduce mutual negative interactions between birds and aircraft. In this paper we 1) provide a brief overview of the systems currently used in military aviation to monitor bird migration movements in the aerosphere, 2) provide a brief overview of the impact of bird strikes on military low‐level operations, and 3) estimate the effectiveness of migration monitoring systems in bird strike avoidance. We compare systems from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland and Israel, which are all areas that Palearctic migrants cross twice a year in huge numbers. We show that the en‐route bird strikes have decreased considerably in countries where avoidance systems have been implemented, and that consequently bird strikes are on average 45% less frequent in countries with implemented avoidance systems in place. We conclude by showing the roles of operational weather radar networks, forecast models and international and interdisciplinary collaboration to create safer skies for aviation and birds.

Revealing patterns of nocturnal migration using the European weather radar network

“…Our large-scale coverage has allowed us to map the spatial structure of avian nocturnal migration pathways through Europe, the migration intensity and migratory directions that define a part of the European flyway, and show how the migration intensity at individual sites is affected by winds. In extension, these large-scale findings will have many important practical applications, related to the flow of biomass (Hu et al 2016) at a continental scale, including the transport of nutrients, energy and pathogens (Bauer and Hoye 2014), the risk imposed by migrating birds to aircraft (van Gasteren et al 2019), potential implications for conservation of birds during cross-country flight as they pass through tall anthropogenic structures (wind-turbines, communication towers, etc.) (Hüppop et al 2006, Shamoun-Baranes et al 2017) and on the ground while stopping to rest and refuel (Buler et al 2007, Hüppop et al 2019.…”

Taking radar aeroecology into the 21st century

“…Just as radar can be used to facilitate species or habitat conservation, radar can also be used to warn stakeholders of the influx of large numbers of birds which can pose a risk to human safety. Through a comparative analysis (van Gasteren et al 2019), demonstrate how early warning systems powered by radar have been used to improve aviation safety in Europe and the Middle East. The authors also show how radar is being used as a tool for near real-time warnings of intense bird migration as well as data input for developing models that forecast migration.…”

Radar aeroecology – a missing piece of the puzzle for studying the migration ecology of animals

“…237 (Wotton et al 2019), while other species cause considerable damage through the spread of diseases (Altizer et al 2011), competition for resources (Wotton et al 2019), and collision with aircraft (van Gasteren et al 2019). Anthropogenic changes to the environment have globally affected the necessary conditions, resources and ecological processes such that many migrants have suffered significant population declines (Wilcove and Wikelski 2008).…”