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<br />0025d"1 <br /> <br />of project activities. The SCPP prepares a periodic newsletter to <br />inform interested individuals, officials, and organizations and <br />i nvi tes thei r response to proposals and p 1 anni ng s,teps. Members <br />of the Skywater staff and representatives of the Bureau's Mid-Pacific <br />Region office have briefed service clubs, staffs of interested <br />agencies, the news media, and groups of citizens on developments <br />within the project and its progress. <br /> <br />Stratified Liquid Tank Model <br /> <br />In April 1976, scientists from Project Skywater and the Bureau~~ ' <br />Engineering and Research Center, Division of General Research, <br />Hydraul'ics Branch, began a study of the airflow over the Sierra <br />Nevada. A hydrodynamic tank model was designed to simulate the <br />general windflows, across the eastern side of ,the Sacramento Valley, <br />up over the Sierra Nevada, and on into the western portions of Nevada. <br /> <br />Stratified saline water in motion has many of the same character- <br />istics as moving air. The model simulates airflow velocity and <br />variations in wind' direction as well as different atmospheric <br />stability conditions. The direction and degree of these changes <br />are revealed by release of colored dye. Visual observations as <br />well as motion pictures and still photography record the trends <br />and properties of the flow. Different model runs can simulate <br />various atmospheric conditions observed in the American River <br />Basin and adjacent areas. <br /> <br />The results of the model tests will provide a base for either <br />additional laboratory modeling or actual field investigations to <br />clarify the effects observed in the model. General windflow <br />diagrams will be developed for the study area. The goal is to <br />advance forecasting techniques and thereby properly target <br />seeding material under varying wind and atmospheric conditions. <br /> <br />The windfield observations from the tank model will be compared <br />with actual observations from the transport and diffusion study <br />carried out by the University of Washington in the Sierra Nevada <br />during the 1976-1977 winter season. The transport of dye in the <br />model will be compared with the transport of tracer material in <br />the atmosphere to verify the laboratory work. <br /> <br />Transport and Diffusion Study <br /> <br />In October 1976, the University of Washington was awarded a <br />Skywater contract to study the distribution of seeding materials <br />during 1976-1977 winter orographic storm situations in the Sierra <br />Nevada. Several specific problems relating to seeding material <br />trajectories and placement will be investigated. <br /> <br />34 <br />