Cloud seeding is a technique used in many parts of the world to increase precipitations, winter snowfall and boost mountain snowpack. This helps to replenish natural water supplies, benefiting communities in the surrounding areas.
The importance of water and precipitations:
Water seems plentiful, but when you consider all the water on Earth, it’s actually quite scarce. Only three percent of the planet’s water is freshwater. Most of this freshwater is locked away in glaciers and ice sheets, or stored underground. The rest – one percent – is found in lakes, rivers, and wetlands, or moves through the air as water vapor, clouds, and rain.
Water and rainfall are essential for life, but they’re getting harder to find in lots of places around the world. This is happening because of a mix of things like climate change, population growth, and not using water wisely. Because there’s not enough water to go around, the demand for it is increasing while there’s less of it available.
The history and definition of the Cloud Seeding Technology
Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique. It is like giving clouds a little boost to make them better at making rain or snow. It works by putting tiny ice particles into specific kinds of super-cold clouds, which gives a starting point for snowflakes to develop. Once cloud seeding happens, these new snowflakes grow fast and fall to the ground, adding to the snowpack and the flow of streams.
An American chemist called Vincent J. Schaefer figured this out back in 1946 after World War II. The main idea was to make it rain or snow more in places where it hardly ever rains. This was meant to reduce the problem of droughts in those areas.
The Cloud Seedings techniques
Over time, different methods for cloud seeding have developed. The most widely utilized cloud seeding techniques include:
1) Static method
Atmospheric scientist DR. William R. Cotton found a method to improve rain formation efficiency using Cloud Seeding Agents (CSAs). Chemicals like silver iodide, known as ice-nucleating agents, are used for this. These agents are released from airplanes at the bottom of clouds. When they come into contact with moisture, they mimic ice crystals due to the hexagonal shape of silver iodide crystals, enhancing the process.
2) Dynamic method
This approach involves 11 distinct steps to stimulate rainfall in clouds. It’s considered more intricate than the static method because it employs 100 times more cloud seedings agents.
3) Hygroscopic method
In this technique, “cloud Seeding Agents (CSAs) are spread near the cloud base using mechanical methods and explosives” (Psiberg team). Hygroscopic salts like sodium chloride are employed in this process. The salt particles have a diameter ranging from 5 to 100 micrometers. They get larger through vapor deposition and kickstart the formation of rain by colliding with each other.
Pros and Cons: Navigating Cloud Seeding Realities
This technology offers a wide range of benefits that enhance our world in numerous ways but can also cause significant damage to the ecosystem.
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Exploring Cloud Seeding: Why Countries Are Getting on Board
Countries like the Russian Federation and Thailand have embraced cloud seeding technology to tackle heatwaves and fight wildfires. Right now, the USA, China, and Australia are tapping into its power to make the most of water, especially during rainfall, to deal with drought challenges. Over the United Arab of Emirates is at the forefront of using cloud seeding technology to enhance existing water resources and to mitigate low water availability. This is primarily motivated by the fact that the U.A.E. only averages 100 millimeters of rainfall every year, most of which occurs during the winter.
The price of cloud seeding: pain or gain?
In the USA, 5 million dollars per year is spent on research and development of cloud seeding
The price of conducting cloud-seeding in the UAE, an average four-hour operation that seeds 24 clouds would cost around $5,000. It would cost around $1.25 million a year.
The roads of Dubai were waterlogged and flooded after heavy rainfall hit parts of the United Arab Emirates on November 17, 2023. This phenomenon occurs several times every year, causing damages, the costs of which are still unknown. Many attributes these floods to cloud seeding, stating that the city is not adequately prepared for such large quantities of rain.
After all, who could’ve imagined a desert city being soaked by rain?
Sources:
https://gpm.nasa.gov/resources/faq/why-are-water-cycle-processes-important
https://psiberg.com/cloud-seeding/#
https://www.qeios.com/read/RK9JX2.3
