天气雷达空中生态监测
Review of Weather Radar Aeroecology Monitoring
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摘要: 每年数以亿计的昆虫、候鸟和蝙蝠等空中动物在全球范围内远距离迁飞,显著影响空中生态系统的结构和功能。随着全球气候和环境的不断变化,空中生态环境也在迅速恶化,对人类的生命和健康构成了严重威胁。为了保护空中生态环境,首要任务是对其进行有效监测。天气雷达具有大范围、全天时、全天候监测能力,可覆盖百千千米空间尺度,是监测和研究宏观空中生态的有效工具。十余年来,天气雷达空中生态监测领域取得了突破性的进展,极大提高了对空中迁飞动物的探测能力,可有效弥补传统监测手段存在的覆盖范围小和时间分辨率低等技术局限。天气雷达已在全球范围内的生物多样性保护、迁飞性虫害监测、疫源疫病传播防控等重大空中生态议题中发挥着日益重要的作用,有效填补了宏观生态研究空白。目前,美国、欧洲和中国分别建立了全球三大天气雷达网,为空中生态研究提供了重要的基础设施和数据支持。本文详细阐述了当前全球天气雷达空中生态监测的科学研究进展,以及通过天气雷达揭示的空中动物迁飞科学规律。然后,对天气雷达生态监测中迁飞动物的电磁散射建模、雷达回波提取、群体参数反演、雷达观测验证实验,以及宏观迁飞模型等关键技术进行了梳理和总结,并详细介绍了中国天气雷达空中生态监测的进展情况。最后,对未来发展方向进行了展望,指出针对中国当前农业迁飞性害虫和鸟类宏观迁飞等重大监测需求,需要在扩维探测、多参反演、多源预测等方面深入研究和探索,以进一步解读重大动物迁飞事件、分析宏观迁飞规律、揭示空中生态对气候变化的响应。Abstract: Every year, billions of aerial creatures, including insects, birds, and bats, embark on extraordinary long-distance migrations spanning the entire globe. This phenomenon has a profound impact on the structure and functionality of aerial ecosystems. In parallel, as global climate change and environmental degradation persist, the well-being of humanity faces increasingly severe threats from the deteriorating aeroecological environment. Thus, it becomes paramount to safeguard the aerial ecosystems that sustain life on our planet. The imperative to monitor the aerial ecosystem effectively has led to the adoption of innovative methods, and one of the most promising tools in this regard is weather radar. Weather radar, originally designed for meteorological purposes, has emerged as a highly effective instrument for monitoring and studying macroscopic aeroecology. Its distinguishing features, including expansive reach, all-weather monitoring capabilities, and the ability to encompass spatial scales from hundreds to thousands of kilometers, have positioned it as a formidable asset for aeroecological research. Over the past decade, the field of aeroecological monitoring employing weather radar has made remarkable strides. These advancements have successfully surmounted the technical limitations that historically hindered conventional monitoring methods. Confined coverage and inadequate temporal resolution, which once plagued researchers, now belong to the past. The influence of weather radar extends across a wide spectrum of global ecological concerns. It plays an increasingly pivotal role in global biodiversity conservation by providing insights into the movement patterns of endangered species and aiding in the formulation of conservation strategies. Moreover, it contributes significantly to agriculture by monitoring migratory insect pests and facilitating timely control measures. In the realm of public health, weather radar aids in the prevention and control of epidemic diseases by monitoring and predicting the movement of disease vectors, such as mosquitoes. Weather radar thus fills a longstanding gap in macro-ecological research, offering a holistic understanding of the interplay between aerial fauna, meteorological processes, and environmental changes. Currently, three major global weather radar networks operate strategically in the United States, Europe, and China. These networks serve as essential infrastructure, providing a robust data foundation for aeroecological research endeavors. International collaboration and data sharing have become pivotal in comprehending the global dynamics of aerial ecosystems. This article serves as a comprehensive exposition, shedding light on the current state of scientific research in the realm of global weather radar aeroecological monitoring. It delves into the scientific principles governing aerial animal migration, as illuminated through the lens of weather radar. The narrative encompasses a thorough review and synthesis of key technologies intrinsic to radar ecological monitoring. These include electromagnetic scattering modeling applied to migratory animals, radar echo extraction methodologies, group parameter retrieval techniques, rigorous radar observation validation experiments, and the macro aerial animal migration prediction models that guide our understanding of these phenomena. Furthermore, the article offers a detailed account of the progress achieved in China's weather radar-based aeroecological monitoring efforts. China's diverse landscapes and ecosystems present a unique opportunity for aeroecological research, contributing significantly to our global comprehension of aerial ecosystems. Finally, the future development direction is forecasted, and it is pointed out that in view of the current major monitoring needs of agricultural migratory pests and bird migration in China, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research and exploration in the aspects of expanded dimension detection, multi-parameter retrieval, multi-source prediction, etc., in order to further interpret major animal migration events, analyze macro migration laws, and reveal the response of aeroecology to climate change.