Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Determine effective ice nuclei concentrations <br />in the area as 8. function of temperature <br /> <br />Determine the ratio of ice crystal concentra- <br />tion to ice nuclei concentrations in the area <br />as a function of cloud top temperature. <br /> <br />Define the orographic component of the vertical <br />motion field. <br /> <br />Present technology is now available to <br />derive reasonable estimates of the se quantities. <br /> <br />b. General conclusions <br />The agreement of the three independent <br />samples with current cloud physics theory, and the <br />, internal consistency among the samples increase <br />confidence that snowfall can be increased on the <br />mountain barrier when seeding is conducted under <br />the right conditions. Almost as apparent is the fact <br />that snowfall can be decreased on the mountain E:ummit <br />when seeding ii:nproper conditions. The modest <br />snowfall increases reported by most cloud seeding <br />projects (generally 15'70 or less) appears to be <br />composed of both increases and decreases that nearly <br />cancel one another over a period of time. Clearly, <br />a potential for m~difi~;tion does not always~xist'and <br />cloud treatment will have to be tailored for existing <br />conditions. <br /> <br />C. Weather Modification Geography <br />The Colorado River Basin above,Lee's <br />Ferry contains about 109,500 square miles. The <br />average annual runoff for this Basin is equivalent to <br />2. 3 inches of precipitation (Crow, 1967). Some 130/0 (aJxut <br />14,200 square miles) of the area basin produceE! a <br />runoff equivalent to 10 or more inches of prec ipitation. <br />Some 9500 square miles produces from 1 to 10 :lnches, <br />and the remainder of the Basin, some 85,800 square <br />miles, produces runoff equivalent to about 1 inch or <br />less of precipitation. This very large difference in <br />yield of various portions of the Basin results from <br />1. The substantially greater amounts of precipi- <br />tation in the mountainous areas resulting <br />from orographic influences. <br />2. The greatly increased evapotranspiration <br />losses at the lower elevations due to higher <br />temperatures. <br />Clearly, the initial stages of a weather modification <br />operational adaptation program in the Colorado River <br />Basin should be concentrated in the 13'70 of the Basin <br />that produces over 10 inches of precipitation and' <br />about 77'70 of the annual runoff. <br /> <br />1. Site Selection for Pilot Project <br />The 13'70 of the Colorado River Basin <br />that produces most of the runoff lies almost exclusively <br />above 9,000 feet elevation. The 9,000 to 10,000 it <br />contours, consequently, can be used to define the <br />sub-areas of the basin that should receive primary <br />consideration for initial weather modification efforts <br />of a pilot project. Commercial programs of weather <br />modification operations in mountainous areas. have in <br />" general been conducted for individual watersheds. <br />Moderate or large scale weather modification opera- <br />tions for larger sub-areas within the Colorado Hiver <br />I drainage, however, will affect a number of such <br />watersheds. Consequently, subdivisions of the <br />Colorado River Basin for purposes of larger scale <br /> <br />weather modification efforts should be defined for <br />mountain ma s s i fs that should be the primary targets <br />rather than individual drainage areas. Respective <br />mountain ma s s i fs form the headwaters for a number <br />of individual watersheds. The Colorado River Basin <br />has, consequently, been divided into seven areas, ' <br />(Figure 8 ) that form the primary targets for weather <br />modification efforts to increase streamflow in the <br />Basin. The seven sub-areas are: <br />1. San Juan Mountains <br />2. The central massif between the mainstem <br />of the Colorado and the Gunnison Rivers <br />3. The Upper Basin of the Colorado River <br />Basin above Kremmling <br />4. The White Mountains at the headwaters of <br />the White River <br />5. The Park Range and headwaters of the <br />Yampa River <br />6. The Uinta Mountains <br />7. The Wind River Range at the headwaters <br />of the Green River <br />The critical areas of snow collection <br />on several of the mountain massifs in these sub-areas <br />can be noted from Figures 9 - 13. These aerial <br />photographs of the respective mountain massifs were <br />taken May 22-28, 1968. Figures 9 and 10 show the <br />San Juan massif ill the distance. Figure 9 shows the <br />western portion of this range while Figure 10 shows <br />the central portion. Figure 11 is a closer picture of <br />the central portion of this range. By the May 22 date <br />when tre photograph was taken the lower elevation <br />snowfall had melted and the remaining snowfall <br />essentially defines the area above 9,000 to 10,000 ft <br />msl that produces most streamflow. This can be <br />seen from Figure 12 which shows the streamflow <br />measured on Vallecito Creek which is fed primarily <br />by snowmelt during late May, June, and early July <br />in most years. This figure shows daily streamflow <br />of 200 cfs or more had been recorded on only three <br />days prior to the taking of the above aerial photo- <br />graphs of the area on May 22. <br /> <br />Following May 22, an additional 54 <br />days had streamflow greater than 200 cfs, with the <br />peak day reaching 1190 cfs on June 2, The snowmelt <br />period in 1968 had a' very noticeable dip in the middle <br />of the season due to a cold spell with minimum <br />temperatures being 250 , 270 , and 280 , respectively, <br />on the three days when the streamflow dropped below <br />500 cfs. <br /> <br />Figure 13 shows the snowcover on the <br />central Colorado River Massif; sub-area #2, from <br />directly overhead. This photograph was also taken <br />on 22 May 1968. Figure 14 shows the delineation of <br />snowfall areas over another sub-ba::;in area, sub- <br />area #5, the Park Range. This photograph was <br />made on May 28, 1968. Figures 15 - 20 show a <br />closer view of the wintertirre snowfall over these <br />barriers and the base sites of three of the facilities <br />for experimental program of weather modification. <br />Figure 15 shows the CSU mountain laboratory <br />(12,000 ft msl) atop Chalk Mountain in the central <br />portion of the Colorado Rockies near Climax, sub- <br />area #2. This is a fall season photograph. <br />Figure 16 shows the same lab oratory under a winter- <br />time regime. Figures 17 and 18, respectively, <br /> <br />27 <br />