Birds can sense hurricanes and tidal waves long before they happen

Swirling tornadoes and tsunamis generate infrasound waves that humans cannot hear, but studies have shown that some species of birds can hear waves below 20 hertz, and this is reflected in their behavior patterns before storms and tsunamis.

Is it possible to benefit from these birds in reducing the losses of natural disasters, materially and humanly?

Birds rely on sight more than on the sense of hearing to observe the world around them, so the sense of hearing is second in importance after sight, but some birds can hear sounds ranging in frequency between 1 and 4 hertz.

A study indicated that pigeons and some species of birds showed behavioral and physiological responses to sounds at these low frequencies that humans cannot hear, and these sounds with a frequency of less than 20 hertz are called "infrasound".

France conducted experiments to study the abilities of migratory birds to sense hurricanes and storms (social networking sites)

Bird Alarm Systems

According to a report in The Atlantic, a team from the French National Museum of Natural History conducted a series of experiments, funded by the French armed forces, to explore the possibility of benefiting from the ability of migratory birds that travel thousands of miles to avoid tropical storms and hurricanes in developing early warning systems. , to reduce the losses of physical and human natural disasters.

The project, called Kivi Kuaka, aims to study potential behavioral responses of birds to hurricanes, earthquakes and potential tsunamis.

To this end, the team used ICARUS tracking technology, which stands for International Collaboration on Animal Research Using Space Project.

The researchers placed small tracking devices on the bodies and wings of 56 birds belonging to 5 species, which the researchers chose because they usually migrate through geographical areas prone to tropical cyclones and earthquakes.

Studies have indicated that tsunamis generate infrasound waves (Al-Jazeera)

These devices send information about the birds' locations to the International Space Station, which processes the information and returns it to scientists on Earth who monitor the birds' behavior as they search for food, migrate and rest.

The project focuses on measuring the ability of birds to hear low-frequency infrasound. Infrasound waves are usually generated from extreme weather phenomena, such as avalanches, earthquakes or lightning strikes, and may come from jet engines, and the Earth itself generates infrasound waves.

Studies have indicated that tsunamis generate infrasound waves as well, and that the speed of transmission of these infrasound waves exceeds the speed of transmission of tsunamis, and this time difference may be used to warn people before the tsunami waves strike the coasts.

Facultative migrations of birds before hurricanes and storms have been recorded (Shutterstock)

facultative migrations

In 2015, scientists in a study published in the journal Current Biology tracked a group of golden-winged warblers in the central and southern United States, and recorded a mass migration of these birds for a long distance outside the usual times of migration, in what is called "facultative migrations."

These songbirds flew more than 1,500 km for 5 days to avoid a severe hurricane wave that struck the United States in April 2014. These birds evacuated their nests about 24 hours before the arrival of hurricanes and the accompanying changes in the atmosphere.

Scientists believe that these birds have sensed the infrasound waves generated by hurricanes more than 400 km away, and affected their behavior and movements.

In 2004, survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami reported seeing birds flying away from the coast before the waves arrived.

The team of researchers at the "Kifi Kwaka" project intends to put tracking devices on hundreds of other birds in the Pacific Ocean, to monitor their behavior when sensing tsunamis, tropical cyclones or earthquakes.

By observing these birds and learning to recognize their behavior before hurricanes strike, the team hopes to develop an early warning system to warn people of potential disasters well in advance.

This system may become a complement to the early warning systems set by government agencies to predict hurricanes or tsunamis before they occur.

Monitoring the behavior of animals and birds before hurricanes and tidal waves has become important (Getty Images)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) developed the DART project to assess and report tsunami risks in the deep ocean.

The system consists of a pressure recording device on the ocean floor that transmits real-time information to buoys on the surface and a satellite, and this system can detect differences between wavelengths of up to one centimeter.

At a time when scientists expect climate change to increase the frequency and exacerbate the severity of storms and hurricanes, the importance of early warning systems that depend on monitoring the behavior patterns of animals and birds to predict hurricanes and storms before they occur, these systems will not only contribute to reducing the number of victims and reduce material losses only. It will also help protect birds and preserve their habitats.