Diehl, R.H., Cryan, P.M., and Valdez, E.W., 2015, Data Recordings from the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) Facility Recorded by the USGS during Spring and Fall 2014: U.S. Geological Survey data release, http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7GM85DN.
Summary
In this observational pilot study, we worked at the largest existing solar tower facility in the world (Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System - ISEGS) to assess the efficacy of using radar, surveillance video, and insect trapping to monitor animals flying near the towers. During week-long site visits in May and September, we monitored the airspace surrounding towers and observed insects, occasional birds, and bats under a variety of environmental and operational conditions. This dataset is comprised of the unedited digital thermal samples we gathered during those site visits and consist of 1280x720 pixel arrayed infrared measures from a FLIR SC8340HD science-grade thermal (SGT) camera with a 200mm lens. The data are stored in SAF [...]
Summary
In this observational pilot study, we worked at the largest existing solar tower facility in the world (Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System - ISEGS) to assess the efficacy of using radar, surveillance video, and insect trapping to monitor animals flying near the towers. During week-long site visits in May and September, we monitored the airspace surrounding towers and observed insects, occasional birds, and bats under a variety of environmental and operational conditions. This dataset is comprised of the unedited digital thermal samples we gathered during those site visits and consist of 1280x720 pixel arrayed infrared measures from a FLIR SC8340HD science-grade thermal (SGT) camera with a 200mm lens. The data are stored in SAF file format (with .SFMOV extention) and were analyzed using FLIR ExaminIR software (v1.40.0). (For camera specifications, see http://www.flir.com/science/display/?id=45674) The camera was placed 12 m south of base of solar towers, and the field of view was trained on a region of airspace greater than approximately 100 m from the camera that included an area of solar flux just west of the receiver section of the solar towers. For this project, infrared data were captured at >=10 frames per second, usually during mid- to late morning, for periods ranging from 15 minutes to 6 hours.
Locational information associated with the towers from which recordings were captured:
Coordinate information based on UTM Projection, Zone 11 (Datum: NAD 1983_CORS96, Ellipsoid: GRS_1980)
These data support the following publication:
Diehl, R. H, E. W. Valdez, T. M. Preston, M. J. Wellik, and P. M. Cryan. 2016. Evaluating the effectiveness of wildlife detection and observation technologies at a solar power tower facility. PLOS ONE.
Solar power towers produce electrical energy from sunlight at an industrial scale. Little is known about the effects of this emerging technology on flying animals. Bird mortality attributable to collisions and burn injuries were reported at a solar tower in the 1980's and more recently at a new, larger facility. Smoking objects are sometimes observed co-occurring with reflected, concentrated light (“solar flux”) in the airspace around solar towers, yet the identity and origins of such objects can be difficult to determine. Because of the large size of new solar towers (taller than 40-story buildings), few established methods exist for observing animals flying near them. This was a pilot study to experiment with different types of observational technologies for determining the presence and identity of animals and objects flying in the airspace near the tops of solar power towers and is not appropriate for quantitative analysis. The science-grade thermal camera was deployed sparingly as it produced enormous amounts of data, and was used primarily as a compliment to other video observations recording at different spectra. Also note that it is difficult to establish visual perspective in video imagery due to its 2-dimensional nature and the distance at which the towers were imaged (greater than approximately 100 m away). This imagery was not gathered in a systematic enough way to draw inference beyond anecdotal observations.
