Wandering abatross flight data

Wandering albatrosses exploit wind shear by dynamic soaring, enabling rapid, efficient, long-range flight. To explore this flight mode, we compared the ability of a nonlinear dynamic soaring model and a linear empirical model to explain observed variation of the airspeeds of GPS-tracked albatrosses in across-wind flight. In fast winds (> 8 m/s), maximum observed airspeeds reach an asymptote at ~ 20 m/s, whereas the dynamic soaring model predicts much faster airspeeds, up to around 50 m/s. We hypothesize that the birds actively limit airspeed by making fine-scale adjustments to turn angles and soaring heights. Predicted dynamic soaring airspeeds do not extend down to the slowest winds (< 3.2 m/s) of observed flight. We hypothesize that in slow winds wandering albatrosses obtain additional energy from updrafts over water waves. The dynamic soaring model predicts that the minimum wind speed necessary to support dynamic soaring at a cruise airspeed of 16 m/s is 3.2 m/s, achieved via a...为探究漂泊信天翁（wandering albatrosses）借助动态翱翔（dynamic soaring）策略利用风切变，借此实现快速、高效的远程飞行。本研究对比了非线性动态翱翔模型与线性经验模型对侧风飞行中GPS追踪信天翁空速观测变异的解释能力。在风速大于8米/秒的环境中，观测到的最大空速在约20米/秒时趋于渐近线；而动态翱翔模型预测的空速则远高于此，最高可达约50米/秒。我们推测，信天翁会通过微调转弯角度与翱翔高度，主动限制自身空速。动态翱翔模型预测的空速范围并未覆盖观测飞行中最低的风速区间（小于3.2米/秒），据此我们进一步推测：在低速风速环境下，漂泊信天翁可借助水面波浪产生的上升气流获取额外能量。动态翱翔模型预测，当巡航空速为16米/秒时，支撑动态翱翔所需的最小风速为3.2米/秒，该风速可通过……