Exploring spatial patterns of overflights at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Peterson BA, Hutchinson SJ, Gurung B, Beeco JA , Anderson SJ, Joyce D. 2023. Exploring spatial patterns of overflights at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Natural Resource Report. NPS/GRSM/NRR—2023/2518. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2299255
This study explored spatial patterns of overflights at Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM). Overflights were analyzed from September 25th, 2019 to June 1st, 2022 using Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data. The first phase of analysis focused on all overflights and found a high concentration of overflights above GRSM. The second phase of analysis focused on low-level overflights that fly below 10,000ft mean sea level (MSL) and fly within 10-miles of the GRSM boundary. Phase 2 figures display yearly overflights (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) and show a concentration of flights beneath 4,000ft MSL near the northcentral and northwest boundary of GRSM. Additionally, for Phase 2, a figure was produced to show overflight travel patterns of rotorcraft that flew below 10,000ft MSL. The third phase of analysis removed all overflights known to not be air tours. Kernel density analysis was conducted using waypoints segmented into 500ft above ground level (AGL) altitude intervals. The altitude intervals with the highest density of overflights were ‘500-1,000ft AGL’ and ‘1,001-1,500ft AGL’. This information can be used for planning and management purposes and this study serves as a resource for future research that intends to use more advanced analytics.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Peterson, Brian; Hutchinson, Shawn; Gurung, Bijan; Beeco, J.; Anderson, Sharolyn; Joyce, Damon
- Date of Issue
- 2023-05
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2299255
- Units
- GRSM , NRSS , NSNSD
- Keywords
- ADS-B, air tours, aircraft tracking, overflights, spatial analysis
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Soundscape | Soundscape