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© Luís Ferreira GNSS to Study Seabirds’ Island by Luís Santos Several hundred kilometers to the south of Madeira lie the Savage Islands (Ilhas Selvagens), home to some rare species of seabirds. This untouched ecosystem is a sanctuary for the marine birds that come here to breed. But the peaceful appearance can be deceiving, as climate change appears to be having an effect on the birds’ behavior. A Leica Geosystems GNSS reference station with several connected meteorological sensors is supporting ornithologists’ research on this remote island. At the beginning of 2011, Leica Geosystems provided a turnkey GNSS reference station solution to DRIGOT (Regional Directorate for Geographic Information and Land Planning) to be installed on the remote island of Selvagem Grande. In August, after discussing and solving all of the logistics aspects, DRIGOT’s 8 | Reporter 66 team travelled to the island to install the GNSS reference station and other components. As there is no regular transport to get there, the team got a 14 hour lift with the Portuguese Navy. Since there is also no electricity on Selvagem Grande, a custom designed solar/wind system was built to supply all system components with sufficient power. According to the consumption needs of each sensor, a set of three solar panels was included, as well as two gel batteries to maintain system power overnight. An originally planned wind generator was dropped from the power supply system due to the high risk of putting the local young bird population at risk through its presence and noise. A Leica GRX1200 Pro receiver and a Leica AR25 choke-ring antenna were installed and connected to the autonomous power supply. Furthermore, the solution included a MET4 meteo station. GNSS and meteo data are pushed via the satellite Internet connection to the Leica GNSS Spider server installed at the DRIGOT headquarters in Funchal (Madeira), which also manages the Madeira GNSS network REPGRAM. The GNSS raw data collected on the island is of major relevance to geodynamic studies of the region, as it represents the behavior between Madeira and the Canary Islands. This data is used for scientific purposes by Portuguese universities as well as some international institutions and universities, such as EUREF and IGS. Since the meteorological data was one of the main products demanded in this project, a high accuracy meteorological sensor, the Paroscientific MET4, was installed on site. Temperature, atmospheric pressure, and humidity are recorded every 10 minutes, and are a fundamental tool for all major scientific studies taking place on the island, in particular ornithological studies. The global climate has warmed up, and all models point towards this being the trend for decades to come. These changes in climate are affecting the distribution and phenology of countless species. It is vital to study and better know the links between these changes and the behavior, physiology, and demography of top predators, such as Cory’s Shearwater. The demographic data collected over the past 30 years on Selvagem Grande Island will be correlated with past climate data to better understand the demographic responses of the Cory’s Shearwater population. In the future, with the availability of very accurate meteo data, the main task will be to create new models that help better understand the population trends, to be used as a reference point for future comparisons. The preliminary analysis of the GNSS data collected reveals that the Leica GRX1200 Pro and the Leica AR25 choke-ring antenna are providing GNSS measurements of superior quality. About the author: Luís Santos is a Surveying Engineer and is a Leica Geosystems GNSS and HDS Product Specialist in Portugal. ([email protected]) Maria João Seiça Neves ist Regional Director at DRIGOT. ([email protected]) Selvagens Islands Nature Reserve The Selvagens (“Wild”) Islands are situated in the North Atlantic, 163 nautical miles from Madeira Island, including three volcanic islands, Selvagem Grande, Selvagem Pequena and Ilhéu de Fora. The terrestrial and marine biodiversity of the Selvagens Islands as well as the importance of their habitats make these islands a unique Nature Reserve. The fauna of the Selvagens Islands is diversified, mostly for nesting birds. The nature reserve is a refuge for an interesting community of several species of seabirds such as Cory’s Shearwater, the largest colony of this species in the world, White-faced Storm-petrel, one of the largest populations in the Atlantic and forms the northern boundary of the species distribution, Bulwer’s Petrel and Madeiran Storm-petrel. More information about Madeira´s protected areas can be found at: www.pnm.pt More information about Madeira can be found at: www.geocidmadeira.com For more information about the Madeira’s GNSS reference service REPGRAM, please visit: www.repgram.org.pt The Global Magazine of Leica Geosystems | 9