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<br />COMPARISON OF DATA REPORTED SINCE 1973 <br /> <br />The CY 1979 data from the preeeeding sections of this report on weather <br />modification activities have been combined with the previously published <br />data for CY 1973 - 78 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration <br />1979). Accordingly, Table 7 provides data on several aspects of the <br />reported activities for the callmdar years 1973 - 79. Some of the data <br />for 1973 - 78 have been adjusted to account for the recently reported fog <br />dispersal proj ects as noted undl~r the section "DATA BASE". <br /> <br />Number of Activities <br /> <br />The data on the number of activities at separate locations suggest a <br />decreasing trend after 1975, ex(~ept for 1977 - a year of critical <br />water shortages in several areas of the country. Nonfederal activities <br />also tend to follow this general trend, whereas Federal activities favor <br />no particular trend. <br /> <br />Operators and Sponsors <br /> <br />The data indicate a decrease in the number of commercial modifiers <br />beyond CY 1974 and in the Federal operating agencies after CY 1975. <br />Community sponsorship of local 'weather modification projects has dropped <br />appreciably since FY 1977; municipal water or conservation district and <br />utility sponsorship has shown no large change over the years. However, <br />State sponsorship has increased appreciably since CY 1975. <br /> <br />Target Areas and Locations <br /> <br />The number of States with weather modification activities peaked in <br />CY 1975. Several projects covered adjoining States, for example, <br />California and Nevada. A review of the r(~ported target locations clearly <br />shows that the States west of the Mississippi River have most of the <br />yearly activities. In the eastern part of the United States, Illinois, <br />Michigan, Delaware, and Georgia have had operational weather modification <br />projects. <br /> <br />The total target area for activities in the United States peaked in <br />CY 1977 and dropped sharply in CY 1979. J\lthough the total target area <br />ranges from 3 to 8 percent of the area of the United States, at no time <br />during any year are all activities underway at the same time. Thus, on <br />anyone day, the total target area would be quite small. The average <br />target area for nonfog activities in CY 1979 decreased by 29 percent from <br /> <br />13 <br />