Which airflow characteristic maximizes efficiency during thermal soaring above land?

💡 Explanation

When soaring above land, birds exploit thermal updrafts; stacked counter-rotating vortices within thermals because enhance lift and reduce energy spent searching vertically, maximize crosswind drift and ground coverage. Therefore high-intensity vortices maximizes soaring efficiency, instead of options requiring stable atmospheric conditions, mixing layers, or strong turbulence which decrease predictability.

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