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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />II. Description of Activities <br /> <br />A. Functional representation of an atmospheric water resources <br />system <br /> <br />The goal 0" the Bureau of Reclamation I s cloud seeding research <br />is to increase the supply of water. In considering BUch a pro- <br />gram, four major functiollB become evident: (1) Deciding whether <br />or not cloud seeding ia applicable to a given locale, (2) recog- <br />nizing a suitable situation, (3) selecting the proper seeding <br />agent and delivery system, and (4) evaluating the results. <br />(See Figure 1). <br /> <br />1161 <br /> <br />The first "black box" of the progl'llm, the "Decision Maker," <br />includes studies of the climatology of the area in question <br />various facets of the need for water (quality, smount, etc.~, <br />preliJDinary economic considerations, and so on. The decision is <br />made to use cloud seeding alone, to use it in conjunction with <br />other water sources, or to seek other sourcea such as desalination, <br />wells, or transoosin diversion. <br /> <br />The "Opportunity Recognizer" includes the recognition of the cloud <br />characteristics, nuclei counts, circulation and air mass parameters, <br />and upwind conditions which determine seedability, liS well as <br />the instrumentation and equipment to detect these factors. AIl <br />important part of this function, and all of the functions, is <br />the persOlUlel factor. This includes the availability of qualified <br />persolUlel with the various skills involved in opportunity <br />recognizing. When all of the necessary data are available, the <br />decision is made to seed or not seed a particular situation. <br /> <br />When the decision to seed is made, the "Treater" function comes <br />into play. The proper seeding agent must be selected. At the <br />present time dry ice and silver iodide are the only agents being <br />used extensively in our program. The method of delivering the <br />seeding agent to the cloud must be selected. DTy ice is dis- <br />pensed from aircraft; silver iodide is dispensed from ground <br />generators or airborne generetors of various types (not necessarily <br />from airplanes). As above, peraonnel factora must be considered. <br />Once the proper seeding agent and delivery systems are chosen, <br />the actual aeeding begins. <br /> <br />The "Evaluator" function includes the equipment and instrumentation, <br />such as rain gages, snow courses, radar, etc., required to collect <br />pertinent data. These data are evaluated by one or more tech- <br />niques, usually statistical. The results of the evaluation are <br />used in deciding to continue the seedir.g program or to terminate <br />it. <br /> <br />9 <br />