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7/28/2009 2:40:23 PM
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Weather Modification
Title
Physical Response of Winter Orographic Clouds over the Sierra Nevada to Airborne Seeding Using Dry Ice or Silver Iodide
Date
4/4/1990
Weather Modification - Doc Type
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<br />306 <br /> <br />JOURNAL OF APPLIED METEOROLOGY <br /> <br />VOLUME 29 <br /> <br />PPI scans with seedline positions at 1905 and 1930 <br />are shown in Fig. 11. The seedlines were originally re- <br />leased in a widespread cloud with weak echo. A hole <br />in the echo then developed on the west side of S2 be- <br />tween S 1 and S2, Fig. 11 a. Then as the original echoes <br />continued to dissipate, a weak echo appeared, which <br />coincided with and was oriented along S2, Fig. 11 b. <br />The echo appeared in S2 31 min downwind and then <br />advected with the seedline. The reflectivity remained <br />< 10 dBZ. Note that the width of the line echo corre- <br />sponds to the width of the seedline, which was allowed <br />to disperse at 1 m S-I, conforming to the aircraft ob- <br />servations. The aircraft penetrated the echo observed <br />in S2 at 1921 and again at 1930. Both penetrations <br />were at the position along S2 shown in Fig. 11 b. This <br />echo then remained with S2 as it passed over KGY 58 <br />min after seeding. A similar pattern was not seen with <br />S 1 or S3; however, natural echoes were in close prox- <br />imity to these seedlines and would have masked any <br />radar reflectivity resulting from seeding. Recall the <br />small particles produced by seeding illustrated in Fig. <br />9 and that the experimental design suggested that seed- <br />ing signatures may be apparent in radar data only in <br />cases without a preexistent echo at the seedline. <br />The second method used in radar analysis was to <br />construct time-height profiles, with analysis boxes 3 <br />X 3 km, close to positions of seedline penetration by <br />the research aircraft. Time-height profiles keying on <br />S2, with the positions of S 1 and S3 also noted, are <br />shown in Fig. 12. Note that SI-S3 were laid out in <br />various intensities of echoing cloud; however, at 14 <br />min downwind only S 1 remained in echo at this lo- <br />cation along the line. The distinct radar feature asso- <br />ciated with S2 can be seen at to + 30 extending from <br />2 to 3.6 km. The position of the research aircraft in S2 <br />is shown at to + 30 and to + 40. At to + 40 the echo <br />in S2 extended 860 m above the seeding altitude, im- <br />plying a vertical velocity of 0.36 m S-I. This agrees <br />with the terrain induced vertical motion of 0.4 m S-I <br />during this period. <br />Notice from Fig. 12 that, with the 14.6 m S-I ad- <br />vection speed used, S 1 began trailing the echo in which <br />it was initiated. Line 3, however, which was initiated <br />just ahead of a natural echo, kept this same relative <br />position throughout the period. These measurements <br />indicate that the natural echo associated with S 1 was <br />advecting faster than S2 and S3 in agreement with the <br />aircraft sampling. The natural echo near S3, however, <br />was found to advect at the same speed as S2 and S3. <br />This provides additional evidence that the winds were <br />slowing with time. The relationships between these <br />natural echoes and the treated regions will be referred <br />to later when discussing surface observations. <br />The question arises as to why a detectable radar sig- <br />nature did not develop in S3 even though a portion of <br />the line existed ahead of the natural echo and S3 had <br />a distinct aircraft seeding signature. Reviewing Fig. 8 <br />it appears that 82 was the only seedline that developed <br /> <br />particles > 1250 /-Lm as evidenced by the 2D-P cu- <br />mulative size distribution at 1930. It was these larger <br />particles, apparently aggregates, that were producing <br />the radar echo. Using a simple mass-diameter rela- <br />tionship, m = 0.27 d2 (Mason 1971), the 1 L -I of I <br />mm particles observed in S I and S3 would yield a re- <br />flectivity of 3 dBZ. Y olume filling problems would <br />probably have reduced this value to near 0 dBZ at the <br />range of these seedlines. For S2, with 2 L -I of 1.5 mm <br />particles, a reflectivity of 13 dBZ could be expected. <br />Why aggregation was not occurring in S I and S3 is not <br />obvious. Their proximity to natural radar features may <br />have limited the liquid water available within these <br />lines. The observations demonstrate the variability of <br />particle growth environments within these clouds. <br /> <br />(iii) Precipitation measurements <br /> <br />The seedlines from both fixed target experiments <br />crossed the precipitation gauge network. The gauges <br />in the network were designed to resolve precipitation <br />rates down to 0.1 mm in 5 min, or 1.25 mm h -I. This, <br />however, may not be sufficient to resolve increases due <br />to seeding. With a Z- R relationship for snow from <br />Gunn and Marshall ( 1958) and values observed for S2 <br />from the second experiment (4-6 dBZ), the precipi- <br />tation rate would be 0.1 mm h-I, a factor of 10 below <br />the gauge resolution. <br />To determine appropriate sampling periods for each <br />precipitation gauge the OTM was used to determine <br />an advection speed and direction since it includes the <br />wind field down to the surface. The result was 1960 at <br />13.6 m S-I and is appropriate for both experiments. <br />The duration of effects at the ground is a function of <br />plume width and plume advection. For a spread rate <br />of 1 m s -I and plume advection of 10 m s -I, the du- <br />ration of effects at a gauge 45 km downwind would be <br />5 min. Precipitation rates for gauges predicted to have <br />been in the path of the seedlines are shown in Fig. 13. <br />The predicted period of effect (PPE) at each gauge is <br />noted for PI-P3 and SI-S3. <br />Based on radar data (not shown), the placebo ex- <br />periment was conducted in a large area of precipitation, <br />consisting mainly of dendrites falling from high ele- <br />vations. This accounts for the more continuous pre- <br />cipitation observed during passage of PI-P3. The in- <br />termittent precipitation observed during the second <br />experiment could be expected from the radar data of <br />Fig. 11. Note that Pine Nut, 26 min downwind of seed- <br />ing, showed no measurable precipitation during the <br />PPE even though the radar indicated that naturally <br />precipitating clouds passed overhead. The radar echo <br />which developed along S2 passed directly over West- <br />ville, 38 min downwind, and precipitation was mea- <br />sured within the PPE. The OTM predicted initial fall- <br />out of seeded crystals 44 min downwind of the seedline, <br />making it plausible to observe seeding effects at West- <br />ville. The natural precipitation regions which coincided <br />
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