WMOD00277

• Contract/Permit #: 14-06-D-6467
• Title: An Operational Adaptation Program for the Colorado River Basin
• Prepared By: Lewis O. Grant, Chappell, Crow, Mielke Jr., Rasmussen, Shobe, Stockwell, Wykstra
• Date: 10/1/1969
• State: CO
• Country: United States
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: Report

a. Determination of the natural precipita-
tion possibilities
b. Determination of the suitability for
modification
c. Analysis of the economic implications.
(This would include the consideration
of the streamflow response to be
expected and other economic effects of
the operation for determination of cost-
benefit interpr'etations with different
operational alternatives. )
d. Interpretation and description of
operational procedures to employ
e. Real-time evaluation of efficiency of
the field program and, to the extent
possible, the effectiveness of the
operation
f. The form of the output would be
designed to facilitate post-operational
evaluations

B. Specific Comments on Some of the Vital Aspects
of the Design
It is not the purpos e of this report to
describe in detail the approach being followed in each
phase of the effort. The following is intended to
provide a brief description of some of the specific
items receiving consideration:
1. Program Design
a. Delineation of operational areas
(1) Preparation of suitable maps
(2) Definition and description of the
suitability of various sub-areas of
the Colorado River Basin for a
pilot program
(3) A description and determination of
the availability of required facili-
ties in the various sub-areas
While river watersheds are referred to
above in some cases, the sub-areas to
be seeded are defined strictly in terms
of mountain massives and not as
specific drainage basins. The oro-
graphic uplifting occurs over the
muuutdiu LalTi.::r and all drainage
basins originating from that barrier
are considered in the planning of the
weather modification efforts.
b. Economic and social considerations
(1) Hydrology
(2) Direct water uses
(a) Dry land
(b) Grazing
(c) Forest uses
(d) Water quality
(",) Rp.~reation
(3) Relation to human activiti.::s
(4) Seeding contamination
(a) Inadvertent modification
(b) Effects from upwind seeding
operations
(c) Downwind effects of pilot
program operations
(5) Relationship to research
experiments
(a) Spatially influenced activities
(b) Technologically related

activities
c. Operational control and evaluation
The program is being designed to
establish operations based on physical
models of orographic cloud processes
when possible and extending these
when feasible, utilizing empirical
considerations.
Four alternate evaluation pro-
cedures for establishing the effects of
seeding are being developed. These
are designed to determine:
(1) Changes in vital steps in the
physical model
(2) Changes with time of the atmo-
spheric water balance
(3) Changes in precipitation utilizing
statistical techniques
(4) Changes in hydrologic parameters
utilizing statistical techniques
2. Operational Definition
a. Establish criteria for operations
(1) Precipitation events
(2) Modification potential
b. Climatology
(1) Meteorological parameters
(2) Modificaticn criteria
3. Operational Desi~
a. Observation network for data input
(1) Surface
(2) Upper air
(3) Satellite
b. Determinati01 of operational seeding
equipment to be employed:
(1) Surface
(2) Aloft
c. SeedinR; agents '
d. Targeting of seeding operations
e. Communications and telemetry
f. Transportation
g. Cost control
h. Description of techniques for using
present technology to meet require-
ments of physical models of the cloud
systems
4. Operational Control
a. Administrative and technical channels
for controlling operations
b. Control central and field bases
Optimum control of the observational
and seeding activities will require
very substantial amounts of input and
stored information with a requirement
for substantial processing. The pilot
program should be controlled from a
central base that would have immedi-
ate access to a large computer, It is
visualized that certain basic hydro-
meteorological data will be telemetered
into the control central and immedi-
ately made available for computer
processing and interpretation. While
the main control base should be in the
general proximity of the field pro-
grams, it is not considered essential
that this base be located within the
pilot project area. Field bases,

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