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<br />MICROPHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WINTER CLOUDS IN ALBERTA <br /> <br />F.D. Barlow, F.E. Robitaille, J.H. Renick <br /> <br />Atmospheric Sciences Oepartment <br />Alberta Research Council <br /> <br />ABS TRACT <br /> <br />A principal component of the water I"esource in southern Alberta is <br />runoff from the accumulated winter snowpack on the slopes of the Rocky <br />Mountains. This water resource is essential for the over one million acres of <br />irrigation agriculture of this region. Variations in mountain snowpack have <br />important effects on the current and future agricultural development of <br />southern Alberta. <br /> <br />.;.; s paper provi des an overvi ew and summari zes some results of recent <br />studies on snow clouds in Alberta. This E!ffort has focused on providing <br />background information on snow climatology and winter cloud characteristics for <br />the southern Canadian Rockies. An instrumentl:!d research aircraft was used to <br />document the characteristics of winter clouds and to examine the precipitation <br />efficiency of the cloud systems. Preliminary results indicate that a potential <br />exists for augmenting the snowfall over the Rockies of southern Alberta. <br /> <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />, <br />{ <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />49 <br />