According to researchers from Swansea University, birds may offer valuable insight into predicting and understanding turbulence in the sky. Turbulence, an unpredictable weather phenomenon, is becoming more frequent and severe as the planet warms. With the potential to cause injuries, damage to aircraft, and even fatalities, finding better ways to forecast and manage turbulence is crucial.

Birds, renowned for their ability to navigate through turbulent skies, could provide valuable clues for improving turbulence prediction models. By studying how birds respond to air turbulence at lower altitudes, researchers hope to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. Some bird species have even adapted to deal with extreme turbulence, which could inform aircraft design, particularly for smaller aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles in urban environments.

A study conducted by the University of Reading revealed that aircraft experience moderate to severe turbulence 68,000 times each year. Modern aircraft are equipped with advanced weather radar systems to detect and avoid areas of turbulence, and they can accurately predict around 75% of turbulence up to 18 hours in advance. However, certain types of turbulence, such as the invisible clear air turbulence encountered by the Singapore Airlines flight mentioned earlier, can be harder to detect. Clear air turbulence occurs at high altitudes, where aircraft cruise in seemingly calm skies. It remains undetectable by onboard sensors and even satellites.

Climate change plays a significant role in the frequency of clear air turbulence. Warmer temperatures create a greater temperature difference between warm and cold air masses, which affects the stability of the jet stream in the upper atmosphere. As a result, the jet stream becomes less stable, leading to increased turbulence.

Meteorologists are actively working to develop improved methods of forecasting all types of turbulence using computer modeling. However, researchers have also realized the untapped potential of animal data, particularly from birds that share the skies with us. Birds' experience of wind speed, direction, and turbulence during their migratory journeys can offer valuable predictive insights.

Swansea University researchers, led by Emily Shepard, are studying the flight patterns of birds to "visualize the invisible" and map out the behavior of the air. By flying alongside birds, deploying ultralight aircraft and attaching GPS, barometric pressure, and acceleration data loggers to them, the team measured turbulence levels during the birds' homing flights. The surprising results indicated that birds, such as pigeons, can cope with high levels of turbulence that even affected the ultralight aircraft flying alongside them.

This research opens up the possibility of using bird-borne sensors to gather turbulence data continuously during their flights. Similar to seal-borne sensors used to measure salinity and sea temperature, birds could act as moving meteorological sensors, providing valuable information about turbulence along their flight paths. Apart from being cheaper than installing sensors on aircraft, birds can also fly in conditions that planes cannot access.

Further research conducted by Shepard and her colleagues focused on the flight patterns of Andean condors, the heaviest soaring birds in the world. The data showed that these birds spend 99% of their flight time in glide-mode, without flapping their wings, exploiting thermals to stay airborne for extended periods. This knowledge could potentially contribute to the programming of autonomous flying vehicles.

The investigation into how gulls maneuver above buildings could also aid in planning flight paths for unmanned aerial vehicles and drones in urban landscapes. Wind gusts and turbulence pose significant challenges for UAVs flying at low altitudes near buildings and other obstacles. By understanding how gulls navigate through turbulent urban environments, researchers may find solutions for safe operations in these areas.

The potential of utilizing birds as meteorological sensors and tapping into their knowledge of flight in turbulent conditions brings hope for more accurate turbulence prediction and improved flight safety measures. As climate change continues to impact our skies, researchers are determined to extract as much valuable data as possible from our avian neighbors to navigate through increasingly bumpy skies.