WMOD00284

• Applicant: Thompson, J.R., G.W. Wilderson, and D.A. Griffith, North American Weather Consultants
• Sponsor Name: USBR
• Title: Cloud Seeding Data Collection, and Analysis Assoc. with the Colo River Augmentation Demonstration Program
• Prepared For: USBR, Divison of Atmospheric Research
• Prepared By: Thompson, Wilderson, Griffith
• Date: 12/1/1987
• State: AZ
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: Scientific Study

2.0 PROJECT DESIGN (Arizona)

As a part of Project Skywater, the CRADP is a research
program that has basic goals of obtaining climatological and
cloud physics data to improve the understanding of the potential
of cloud seeding as a water resource management option in
the Colorado River Basin.

The major activities during the 1986-87 field season
consisted of establishing and operating a meteorological data
collection network in Arizona, similar to the previous work
that had been done successfully in Colorado on the Grand Mesa.

The subsections which follow describe the experimental
test area, the objectives for the 1986-B7 field season and
how they were approached and the major pieces of equipment
that were utilized to attain the objectives.

2.1 Experimental Area

The Mogollon Rim country of Arizona extends from central
Arizona southeastward to near the New Mexico border in southeastern
Arizona. The portions of the Rim area which drain into the
Verde and Salt Rivers were identified by Arizona water interests
as those areas of primary interest for potential augmentation.
The portion of the Rim above 7000 feet (2130 meters), where
the majority of the winter snowpack storage occurs, lies in
a band some 30 km wide. Operational constraints dictated
that the initial exploratory field program should concentrate
on a part of this rather elongated but narrow region. Examination
of the terrain and the availability of supporting facilities
for the conduct of the research suggested the most appropriate

2-1

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