Data from: Odor source distance is predictable from time-histories of odor statistics for large scale outdoor plumes

Odor plumes in turbulent environments are intermittent and sparse.
Lab-scaled experiments suggest that information about the source distance
may be encoded in odor signal statistics, yet it is unclear whether useful
and continuous distance estimates can be made under real-world flow
conditions. Here we analyze odor signals from outdoor experiments with a
sensor moving across large spatial scales in desert and forest
environments to show that odor signal statistics can yield useful
estimates of distance. We show that achieving accurate estimates of
distance requires integrating statistics from 5-10 seconds, 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 60x60 m2 search area with
median errors of 3-8 meters, a distance at which point odor sources are
often within visual range for animals such as mosquitoes.