Observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross
Wandering albatrosses exploit wind shear by dynamic soaring (DS), enabling rapid, efficient, long-range flight. We compared the ability of a theoretical nonlinear DS model and a linear empirical model to explain the observed variation of mean across-wind airspeeds of GPS-tracked wandering albatrosse...
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Online Access: | https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/284116/ https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/284116/1/284116.pdf |
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ftuglasgow:oai:eprints.gla.ac.uk:284116 2023-05-15T18:43:03+02:00 Observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross Richardson, Philip L. Wakefield, Ewan D. 2022-11 text https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/284116/ https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/284116/1/284116.pdf en eng The Royal Society https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/284116/1/284116.pdf Richardson, P. L. and Wakefield, E. D. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/31199.html> (2022) Observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross. Royal Society Open Science <https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Royal_Society_Open_Science.html>, 9(11), 211364. (doi:10.1098/rsos.211364 <https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211364>) (PMID:36465680) cc_by_4 CC-BY Articles PeerReviewed 2022 ftuglasgow https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211364 2023-01-19T23:09:54Z Wandering albatrosses exploit wind shear by dynamic soaring (DS), enabling rapid, efficient, long-range flight. We compared the ability of a theoretical nonlinear DS model and a linear empirical model to explain the observed variation of mean across-wind airspeeds of GPS-tracked wandering albatrosses. Assuming a flight trajectory of linked, 137° turns, a DS cycle of 10 s and a cruise airspeed of 16 m s−1, the theoretical model predicted that the minimum wind speed necessary to support DS is greater than 3 m s−1. Despite this, tracked albatrosses were observed in flight at wind speeds as low as 2 m s−1. We hypothesize at these very low wind speeds, wandering albatrosses fly by obtaining additional energy from updrafts over water waves. In fast winds (greater than 8 m s−1), assuming the same 10 s cycle period and a turn angle (TA) of 90°, the DS model predicts mean across-wind airspeeds of up to around 50 m s−1. In contrast, the maximum observed across-wind mean airspeed of our tracked albatrosses reached an asymptote at approximately 20 m s−1. We hypothesize that this is due to birds actively limiting airspeed by making fine-scale adjustments to TAs and soaring heights in order to limit aerodynamic force on their wings. Article in Journal/Newspaper Wandering Albatross University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications Royal Society Open Science 9 11 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications |
op_collection_id |
ftuglasgow |
language |
English |
description |
Wandering albatrosses exploit wind shear by dynamic soaring (DS), enabling rapid, efficient, long-range flight. We compared the ability of a theoretical nonlinear DS model and a linear empirical model to explain the observed variation of mean across-wind airspeeds of GPS-tracked wandering albatrosses. Assuming a flight trajectory of linked, 137° turns, a DS cycle of 10 s and a cruise airspeed of 16 m s−1, the theoretical model predicted that the minimum wind speed necessary to support DS is greater than 3 m s−1. Despite this, tracked albatrosses were observed in flight at wind speeds as low as 2 m s−1. We hypothesize at these very low wind speeds, wandering albatrosses fly by obtaining additional energy from updrafts over water waves. In fast winds (greater than 8 m s−1), assuming the same 10 s cycle period and a turn angle (TA) of 90°, the DS model predicts mean across-wind airspeeds of up to around 50 m s−1. In contrast, the maximum observed across-wind mean airspeed of our tracked albatrosses reached an asymptote at approximately 20 m s−1. We hypothesize that this is due to birds actively limiting airspeed by making fine-scale adjustments to TAs and soaring heights in order to limit aerodynamic force on their wings. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Richardson, Philip L. Wakefield, Ewan D. |
spellingShingle |
Richardson, Philip L. Wakefield, Ewan D. Observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross |
author_facet |
Richardson, Philip L. Wakefield, Ewan D. |
author_sort |
Richardson, Philip L. |
title |
Observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross |
title_short |
Observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross |
title_full |
Observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross |
title_fullStr |
Observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross |
title_sort |
observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/284116/ https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/284116/1/284116.pdf |
genre |
Wandering Albatross |
genre_facet |
Wandering Albatross |
op_relation |
https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/284116/1/284116.pdf Richardson, P. L. and Wakefield, E. D. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/31199.html> (2022) Observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross. Royal Society Open Science <https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Royal_Society_Open_Science.html>, 9(11), 211364. (doi:10.1098/rsos.211364 <https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211364>) (PMID:36465680) |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211364 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
11 |
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1766232833303511040 |