Biological data derived from European weather radars

Area of Science:

• Environmental science
• Zoology
• Atmospheric science

Background:

• Weather radars continuously monitor the lower atmosphere.
• Archived radar data contains information on animal movements.
• Existing methods lack comprehensive aerial habitat coverage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present novel biological datasets extracted from European weather radar data.
• To enable biological monitoring of aerial animals at a continental scale.

Main Methods:

• Processed archived, unfiltered weather radar data.
• Utilized optimized methods for extracting bird targets.
• Generated vertical profiles of biological targets.

Main Results:

• Created two comprehensive datasets of biological data from European weather radar.
• Data covers 141 radar stations across 18 countries (2008-2023).
• Datasets provide unprecedented insights into aerial animal movements.

Conclusions:

• Weather radar data is a valuable resource for biological monitoring.
• These datasets open new avenues for understanding continental-scale animal movements.
• Careful data evaluation is necessary due to varying quality and coverage.