5 ms·

Somewhat more impressively, albatrosses do that on the forward faces of waves, soaring for days far away from thermals and hills.

• tim333 6y ago
  There's research that they use dynamic soaring more, getting energy from the different wind speeds at sea level and a bit above https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMX2wCJga8g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMX2wCJga8g
  • crubier 6y ago
    Gotta love the end of the video aha! But the whole video is very interesting. As a kayaker myself I can definitely “feel” the phenomenon they are talking about of extracting energy by alternating on two sides of a flow gradient.
    • frandroid 6y ago
      Next up in kayagliding...
  • sails 6y ago
    That is very interesting. I always assumed sea birds used combination of wing in ground effect [1] and the lift of wind hitting the front of waves to cover long distance, but this explanation makes much more sense for birds crossing oceans. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkVVnx70FgI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkVVnx70FgI Edit: It just occurred to me that the albatross is in some way surfing the wind in much the same way a surfer pumps along a wave to generate speed.