Odour source distance is predictable from a time history of odour statistics for large scale outdoor plumes.
J R Soc Interface
; 21(216): 20240169, 2024 Jul.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39079675
ABSTRACT
Odour plumes in turbulent environments are intermittent and sparse. Laboratory-scaled experiments suggest that information about the source distance may be encoded in odour signal statistics, yet it is unclear whether useful and continuous distance estimates can be made under real-world flow conditions. Here, we analyse odour signals from outdoor experiments with a sensor moving across large spatial scales in desert and forest environments to show that odour signal statistics can yield useful estimates of distance. We show that achieving accurate estimates of distance requires integrating statistics from 5 to 10 s, with a high temporal encoding of the olfactory signal of at least 20 Hz. By combining distance estimates from a linear model with wind-relative motion dynamics, we achieved source distance estimates in a 60 × 60 m2 search area with median errors of 3-8 m, a distance at which point odour sources are often within visual range for animals such as mosquitoes.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Odorantes
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J R Soc Interface
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos
Pais de publicación:
Reino Unido