Infrared thermography data from the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) Facility Recorded by the USGS during Spring and Fall 2014

In this observational pilot study, we worked at the largest existing solar tower facility in the world (Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System - ISEGS) to assess the efficacy of using radar, surveillance video, and insect trapping to monitor animals flying near the towers. During week-long site visits in May and September, we monitored the airspace surrounding towers and observed insects, occasional birds, and bats under a variety of environmental and operational conditions. This dataset is comprised of the unedited digital thermal samples we gathered during those site visits and consist of 1280x720 pixel arrayed infrared measures from a FLIR SC8340HD science-grade thermal (SGT) camera with a 200mm lens. The data are stored in SAF file format (with .SFMOV extention) and were analyzed using FLIR ExaminIR software (v1.40.0). (For camera specifications, see http://www.flir.com/science/display/?id=45674) The camera was placed 12 m south of base of solar towers, and the field of view was trained on a region of airspace greater than approximately 100 m from the camera that included an area of solar flux just west of the receiver section of the solar towers. For this project, infrared data were captured at >=10 frames per second, usually during mid- to late morning, for periods ranging from 15 minutes to 6 hours. Locational information associated with the towers from which recordings were captured: Tower 1 Recording start date: 9/7/2014 Recording end date: 9/11/2014 Easting (X location, UTM meters): 640371 Northing (Y location, UTM meters): 3933464 UTM Zone: 11 North Altitude above sea level (meters): 877 Tower 2 Recording start date: 9/3/2014 Recording end date: 9/7/2014 Easting (X location, UTM meters): 638651 Northing (Y location, UTM meters): 3935824 UTM Zone: 11 North Altitude above sea level (meters): 925 Tower 3 Recording start date: 5/11/2014 Recording end date: 5/22/2014 Easting (X location, UTM meters): 637472 Northing (Y location, UTM meters): 3937887 UTM Zone: 11 North Altitude above sea level (meters): 972 Coordinate information based on UTM Projection, Zone 11 (Datum: NAD 1983_CORS96, Ellipsoid: GRS_1980)