Observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross.

ABSTRACT: 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

SUBMITTER: Richardson PL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9709578 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature