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Last modified
7/28/2009 2:28:42 PM
Creation date
10/1/2006 2:16:21 PM
Metadata
Fields
Template:
Weather Modification
Applicant
North American Weather Consultants
Sponsor Name
Upper Colorado River Commission
Project Name
The Potential Use of Winter Cloud Seeding Programs to Augment the Flow of the Colorado River
Title
The Potential Use of Winter Cloud Seeding Programs to Augment the Flow of the Colorado River
Prepared For
Upper Colorado River Commission
Prepared By
Don Griffith, NAWC
Date
3/1/2006
Weather Modification - Doc Type
Report
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<br />eatcgories: I) addition of different types or greater numbcrs of sceding equipment and amount of <br />secding. and 2) extension of seasonal opcrational pcriods. <br /> <br />There are sevcral possibilities under the first catcgory. Ilerhaps the addition of higher <br />elevation. remotcly-controlled silver iodide generators would be desirable. Additional ground <br />generators may be added to an existing program if the spacing bet\veen generators is not <br />sufficiently close to produce consistently overlapping seeding plumes in the seedable cloud <br />regions. <br /> <br />lllC addition of one or more sceding aircraft may be appropriate. although this decision is <br />drivcn by the characteristics of the individual target areas. If there are mountain ranges up\'..-ind <br />of the existing target areas. this may mean that aircraft cannot be Ilo\vn low enough in order for <br />the sceding material to enter the desired cloud rcgions. which are typically found at 100v <br />elevations on the windward sides of the target barriers. Two areas that may benefit from the <br />addition of seeding aircraft arc the San Juan Mountains of southwestcrn Colorado and thc south <br />slope of the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah. There are no major upwind barriers that <br />could prcsent safety considcrations for thcse t\VO areas and both .lreas gcnerate considerable <br />runoff. <br /> <br />Some programs. due to funding constraints. may be unable to operatc for thc cntire winter <br />season. Such programs will be typically opcrated during thc "best'" period bascd upon <br />climatology. For example. a program may be currently opcrating from Dcecmber through March. <br />Additional prccipitation could probably be produccd ifthc program \'ias expanded to operate <br />during the months of October. November and April provided that suitable conditions (e.g.. <br />tempcratures and presence of supercooled liquid water) exist for signilicant durations during <br />these months. <br /> <br />(2.0 Potential Impacts during nl")., Normal and \Vet Winters <br /> <br />A question that is asked rather frequcntly is "\Vhat arc the potential effects of cloud <br />sceding in dry. nonllal. and wct years?" This question is often asked during a drought pcriod that <br />is affecting a given area. This is certainly a legitimate qucstion. Those \'..-ho have sufficient <br />knowledge of cloud seeding will not advocate the technology as one that is going to "bust'" or <br />"solvc" the drought problem. Our currcnt ability to modify the weathcr is dcpendent upon having <br />the right types of clouds occurring naturally. Studics of clouds during drought vcrsus non- <br />drought pcriods typically indicatc that the clouds during thc two periods arc quite similar. <br />During drought periods. however. such clouds occur less frequcntly than in nonnal or wct <br />periods. So while it may be possiblc to produce incrcases in precipitation of approximately 10% <br />in dry. normal and wet periods thc actualmagnitudc ofaccumulatcd seasonal increases from <br />sceding would be reduced during drought pcriods. This fact has \cd some to statc. perhaps <br />justiliably. that"a 10% increase of nothing is nothing:' This attitude may be some\" hat extrcme. <br />howevcr. if the value of the water during drought periods is taken into account. Interestingly. <br />there is a suggestion in one long-tcrm program being conducted by North American Weather <br />Consultants in ccntral and southcrn Utah that the seeding increases expressed as a percentage <br />may be higher in below normal winters. It is probably safc to concludc that the "biggest bang for <br />the buck" from cloud sceding programs will occur during nonnal to wet water ycars. The <br />
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