Biological data derived from European weather radars
Abstract Weather radars detect more than weather, they also continuously register the movements of billions of animals aloft in the lower atmosphere. This makes archived, unfiltered weather radar data a goldmine for biological monitoring purposes, providing coverage of the aerial habitat in a way no...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Scientific Data |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-04641-5 |
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| author | Peter Desmet Judy Shamoun-Baranes Bart Kranstauber Adriaan M. Dokter Nadja Weisshaupt Baptiste Schmid Silke Bauer Günther Haase Bart Hoekstra Pieter Huybrechts Hidde Leijnse Nicolas Noé Stijn Van Hoey Berend Wijers Cecilia Nilsson |
| author_facet | Peter Desmet Judy Shamoun-Baranes Bart Kranstauber Adriaan M. Dokter Nadja Weisshaupt Baptiste Schmid Silke Bauer Günther Haase Bart Hoekstra Pieter Huybrechts Hidde Leijnse Nicolas Noé Stijn Van Hoey Berend Wijers Cecilia Nilsson |
| author_sort | Peter Desmet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Weather radars detect more than weather, they also continuously register the movements of billions of animals aloft in the lower atmosphere. This makes archived, unfiltered weather radar data a goldmine for biological monitoring purposes, providing coverage of the aerial habitat in a way no other method can. Here we present two datasets of biological data extracted from European weather radar data, obtained through a collaboration with the Operational Programme for the Exchange of Weather Radar Information (OPERA) and three national meteorological services. The datasets were created by processing weather radar data with methods optimized for extracting bird targets, resulting in vertical profiles of biological targets. The datasets collectively cover 141 radar stations in 18 countries, from 2008 to 2023. Data quality and coverage differs between years, countries, and radar stations, so care must be taken when evaluating data for each specific use case. Despite these challenges the datasets are currently the most comprehensive of their kind in Europe and open new avenues in understanding continental scale movements of aerial animals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-681f95d63a5649b4b3fe315fdd308f9a |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2052-4463 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Data |
| spelling | doaj-art-681f95d63a5649b4b3fe315fdd308f9a2025-08-20T03:04:26ZengNature PortfolioScientific Data2052-44632025-02-0112111110.1038/s41597-025-04641-5Biological data derived from European weather radarsPeter Desmet0Judy Shamoun-Baranes1Bart Kranstauber2Adriaan M. Dokter3Nadja Weisshaupt4Baptiste Schmid5Silke Bauer6Günther Haase7Bart Hoekstra8Pieter Huybrechts9Hidde Leijnse10Nicolas Noé11Stijn Van Hoey12Berend Wijers13Cecilia Nilsson14Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of AmsterdamInstitute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of AmsterdamCornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell UniversityFinnish Meteorological Institute (FMI)Swiss Ornithological InstituteInstitute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of AmsterdamSwedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI)Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of AmsterdamResearch Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI)Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of AmsterdamDepartment of Biology, Lund UniversityAbstract Weather radars detect more than weather, they also continuously register the movements of billions of animals aloft in the lower atmosphere. This makes archived, unfiltered weather radar data a goldmine for biological monitoring purposes, providing coverage of the aerial habitat in a way no other method can. Here we present two datasets of biological data extracted from European weather radar data, obtained through a collaboration with the Operational Programme for the Exchange of Weather Radar Information (OPERA) and three national meteorological services. The datasets were created by processing weather radar data with methods optimized for extracting bird targets, resulting in vertical profiles of biological targets. The datasets collectively cover 141 radar stations in 18 countries, from 2008 to 2023. Data quality and coverage differs between years, countries, and radar stations, so care must be taken when evaluating data for each specific use case. Despite these challenges the datasets are currently the most comprehensive of their kind in Europe and open new avenues in understanding continental scale movements of aerial animals.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-04641-5 |
| spellingShingle | Peter Desmet Judy Shamoun-Baranes Bart Kranstauber Adriaan M. Dokter Nadja Weisshaupt Baptiste Schmid Silke Bauer Günther Haase Bart Hoekstra Pieter Huybrechts Hidde Leijnse Nicolas Noé Stijn Van Hoey Berend Wijers Cecilia Nilsson Biological data derived from European weather radars Scientific Data |
| title | Biological data derived from European weather radars |
| title_full | Biological data derived from European weather radars |
| title_fullStr | Biological data derived from European weather radars |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biological data derived from European weather radars |
| title_short | Biological data derived from European weather radars |
| title_sort | biological data derived from european weather radars |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-04641-5 |
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