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outfitted for that purpose; the treated cloud volumes will be identified using information <br />obtained by the release, and detection, of sulfur hexafluoride (SF) gas; <br />6 <br />(5) To study the growth and decay of convective storms in west central Oklahoma using advanced <br />imaging processing and advanced storm identification algorithms as well as multiple sensor <br />high-resolution observational data; <br />(6) To study and document seeding signatures in convective towers using glaciogenic materials <br />dispensed from cloud base at one, or more, rain enhancement project areas in south Texas. <br /> Although all objectives were pursued in SPECTRA II, the focus here is on Objective 1. Time, budgetary <br />and monetary constraints did not permit meaningful pursuit of Objective 3. Objective 2 will be addressed by the <br />Oklahoma research scientists in a separate report. <br />4.2Resources <br /> The equipment used in SPECTRA II is described below: <br /> A high-performance twin-engine turboprop aircraft (Cheyenne II), owned by SOAR and leased to the <br />TDLR for up to 50 hours of flight time. The capabilities of this aircraft are addressed in Appendix A; <br /> An agricultural-type single-engine airplane (as shown in Appendix A), also owned by SOAR and leased <br />by TDLR, with a capability of dispensing seeding material (milled salts) at cloud base; <br /> An instrument package, carried onboard the cloud physics aircraft (Cheyenne II),consisting of sensors <br />having the capability to measure in situmicrophysical properties of clouds and their thermodynamic <br />environment, documenting the composition of clouds, and diagnosing the physical processes within <br />them (See Appendix A). <br /> An operational radar (5-centimeter wavelength known as aWSR 100/2/77) with a volume scan equipped <br />with Thunderstorm Identification, Tracking, Analysis, and Nowcasting (TITAN) hardware and software. <br />(TITAN allows for the examination of 3-dimensional structure of echoing clouds in real time, as well as <br />the tracking of individual, and groups of, echoes, whose development and motion can be projected in <br />time.) <br /> NEXRAD weather radar data (from Lubbock and Midland NWS sites, primarily), accessible via a <br />wireless high-speed internet connection; <br /> An Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (EMWIN), a satellite networking system that <br />retrieves information issued from the National Weather Service (NWS) within a few seconds of time of <br />issuance; <br /> Radio communication equipment to direct pilots of both seeder and research aircraft in, and among, <br />convective towers. Geostationary Positioning Satellite (GPS) latitude and longitude data from each of <br />the two aircraft will be collected and viewed with the TITAN software. <br />4.3Timing and Location of Experiments <br />15 <br />