Bats killed by the wind
2008/09/28 Lakar Iraizoz, Oihane - Elhuyar Zientzia
From their observation, scientists try to figure out how bats die in wind farms. They were quite clear that it was very rare to end up like birds (i.e., crashing into the slopes). In fact, bats more easily perceive moving shovels than those at rest thanks to their sonar. Therefore, they rarely come close enough so they can collide with them. In addition, the most obvious proof was that most dead bats had no external wounds.
The same problem as divers
In order to clarify this problem, a researcher at the Canadian University of Calgary analyzed 75 bats killed in wind farms. When dissecting bats he realized that most had internal bleeding. This made him think that the blood vessels in the lungs exploded and bled. The researcher believes that these explosions are due to the strong pressure drops that occur in wind turbines, which is the greatest impact of these on bats.
Technically called pulmonary barotraumatism. Those who know something about scuba diving will be made known because it is the same problem that divers have when they leave too fast. This is the case of the lungs that do not properly expel air during their ascent.
When submerged, the lower the pressure, and vice versa, the closer the surface is. Once diving is over, when you head up, as pressure drops, the air in your lungs expands and needs more space in your lungs than when it is below. The inadequate expulsion of this air can cause air to require more space than the lungs have and that this pressure causes an explosion of the pulmonary alveoli. The alveoli kill the bleeding that occurs in the explosion, both divers and bats.
Pallet pressure drop
Pressure change occurs in wind turbines. The pressure drop is mainly due to the movement speed of the blades. It seems that the passage of a bat near a spinning shovel (at a distance of one meter) is enough to withstand enough pressure drop for the lungs to explode. For birds, this does not happen even if they are close, since their lungs are stiffer.
This discovery has been considered of great interest by conservation scientists, since knowledge of the cause of death facilitates the adoption of measures to combat it. For example, it has been proposed that wind turbine blades could move at a lower speed, especially in times when bats are at a higher level of activity, such as migration. This would mean a decrease in pressure.
Anyway, if that's the only thing that needs to be changed around the wind turbines, we wouldn't be very bad. But there are other problems. For example, because the wind blows frequently, we place them in very good places for birds and bats, turning wind farms into real animal barriers.
Published in 7K.
Gai honi buruzko eduki gehiago
Elhuyarrek garatutako teknologia
