Abstract

Determining Nocturnal Avian Migration Concentration Areas Using Hot Spot Analysis
Track: Renewable Energy
Authors: Ed Schools, Helen Enander

The Great Lakes and their associated shorelines have a propensity for high, steady winds, making them ideal locations for wind energy development. Regulators, policymakers, and planners lack large-scale data revealing potential conflicts between winds farms and nocturnal migrating birds. To determine migration concentration areas we analyzed NEXRAD weather surveillance radar data from four Michigan sites during the time periods of peak migration and dawn, for spring and fall migration seasons, over a five year period. Daily high concentration areas were combined for each migration season and the hot spot analysis tools in ArcGIS 10 used to identify statistically significant clusters. Our results indicate some shoreline areas are statistically significant migration hot spots, but the pattern varies by time period, season and year. These data will provide regulators, policymakers, and planners, guidance for wind farm siting decisions. Our analysis technique is transferable to any region where similar data are available.