•  
  •  
 

Loading...

Media is loading
 

Prior Publisher

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Abstract

Birds represent a significant hazard to flying aircraft as illustrated by the “Miracle on the Hudson” encounter in 2009 between U.S. Airways Flight 1549 and a flock of Canada Geese, forcing the flight to ditch in the river. Birds are common in the skies over Florida during the spring migration season, and often appear in the National Weather Service’s (NWS) NEXRAD weather radar imagery as an easily recognizable signature known as a “roost ring.” This paper presents a NEXRAD roost ring case in central Florida in a rare instance where the signatures were confirmed by visual observations of the birds. In 2013 the NWS completed an upgrade of its NEXRAD systems to dual polarization, a technology designed to improve target classification. Use of new dual polarization weather radar variables to better discriminate birds from precipitation for the current case is demonstrated. It is shown that the dual polarization capability, and specifically, the correlation coefficient product, allows for greater confidence in identifying radar echoes due to birds, and therefore could lead to better situational awareness for aviation operations personnel able to recognize these signatures.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.