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What's That About?: Cloud Seeding
What's That About?: Cloud Seeding
Cloud seeding is a technique for increasing rainfall or precipitation using naturally occurring clouds. Cloud seeding is only effective if suitable clouds are present.
Cumuliform Cloud: These clouds are characterised by a dense discrete appearance with sharp outlines, which develop vertically in the form of towers or domes. The sunlit part of the cloud is often a brilliant white, while the bottom is a darker grey and flat in appearance. They are convective in nature with a great deal of vertical mixing present. Stratiform Cloud: These clouds are characterised by their layered structure. They are generally grey with a fairly flat base extending for many kilometres in all directions. Generally there is very little convective activity in the cloud.eeding
Cloud seeding was first demonstrated by Vincent Schaefer from the General Electric Laboratories on 13 November 1946, in the United States. The first case of documented man-made rain occurred near Bathurst, Australia in February 1947 and was carried out by CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Australia). Ongoing research led to the first cloud seeding experiment in Tasmania by Hydro Tasmania and CSIRO in 1964.
Clouds are composed of water droplets and sometimes ice crystals. The usual mechanism for cloud formation is for air that is rich in moisture, near the Earths surface, to be raised higher into the atmosphere either by an encroaching air mass or the heat of the sun. As the air is lifted, the pressure drops and the air is subsequently cooled. This causes water vapour to condense into water droplets, which are visible to the naked eye.
The theory of cloud seeding states that the number of naturally occurring ice nuclei present in a cloud is related to the amount of rain the cloud can produce. The amount of these naturally occurring ice nuclei is generally much lower than the optimum number required for effective rain formation. Cloud seeding aims to increase the number of nuclei by putting artificial cloud condensation nuclei into the cloud. The cloud droplets form small ice crystals on the surface of the nuclei (natural and artificial). Ice crystals falling through the cloud collide with more cloud droplets and grow. Eventually when these ice crystals fall from the cloud they melt as they pass through the melting point (0C) and fall as rain, or as snow if the temperature is low enough.
No, not all clouds are suitable. Significant levels of supercooled liquid water have to be present in the cloud. The cloud must be deep enough and the temperature must be within a range suitable for seeding. The wind also has to be below a fixed value. Once all the criteria are met, cloud seeding can be successfully used to produce rainfall.
Stage I : 1964-1971 This was an alternate year experiment in conjunction with CSIRO providing randomisation on a seed/no seed 1:1 ratio. The experiment was concluded in 1971 when the reservoirs were at their full supply level. The target area was the Central Plateau (Great Lake) and silver iodide was used as the seeding agent. Stage II : 1979 1983 The experiment used a ratio of suitable seeded/unseeded days at 2:1 to provide randomisation and was also conducted in conjunction with CSIRO. Silver iodide was used as the seeding agent. Stage III: 1992 1994 This experiment was very similar to Stage II except that dry ice was used and the work was completed by Hydro Tasmania alone.-------Cloud seeding makes an important contribution to Hydro Tasmanias annual generating capacity by increasing rainfall over hydro storages. A Monash University study found a consistent increase of at least five per cent in monthly rainfall over seeded catchment areas. Read the report here > -----
Yes. Hydro Tasmania has completed three successful experiments. Two of these have been in conjunction with CSIRO. All of the experiments show statistically significant increases in rainfall over the Central Plateau target area. Below is a list of experiments and some brief information about each:
Tasmania produces the majority of its power from hydro-electricity. This power is produced from rain falling on the hydro catchments, where it is stored in dams until the energy is required. Water is run through power stations to produce electricity. The more water in storage, the greater the capacity of Hydro Tasmania to meet the energy demands of Tasmania, in particular through the drier periods such as summer. Cloud seeding is a cost-effective means of increasing rainfall in selected catchment areas.
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Hydro Tasmania uses a twin engine aircraft, a Cessna Conquest, which is under contract for the cloud seeding season each year. This plane has two silver iodide generators or burners, containing the silver iodide solution under pressure, one mounted under each wing. Every cloud seeding flight is conducted by one pilot and one cloud seeding officer. The aircraft is fitted with a number of scientific instruments to measure the atmospheric conditions encountered and to determine the suitability of clouds for seeding. When airborne the cloud seeding officer advises the pilot of a seeding track upwind of the target area. Once suitable cloud is encountered on the seeding track, the cloud seeding officer ignites the burner using switches mounted inside the aircraft.
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Flight Path Hydro Tasmania seeds 30 minutes upwind of its Burners Off Burners On chosen target area boundary. For example, if the Target Areas Gordon wind speed is 40 knots, seeding will be 20 nautical Mersey Forth miles orGreat Lake 37 km upwind of the target area about Upper Derwent Upper Pieman boundary. Catchment(s) Targeted
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Legend
W " 270
N 3"0 6 80 1" S
E " 90
1480'0"E
25
50
100
150
200
Once the cloud is seeded it takes about 30 minutes for the ice crystals formed to grow to sufficient size to fall out of the cloud under their own weight. As ice falls, it passes through the melting level (0C) and becomes rain.
In the example shown, the average wind direction is 260 (or westerly) with an average wind speed of 47 knots. The seeding track (shown in red) is approx 25 nautical miles (nm) (or 46 km) upwind from the target area boundary. One track has been seeded for the Lake Gordon catchment; conditions for the other catchments were checked out (track shown in blue), but no suitable cloud was found.
Kilometres
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Flight Date: Start Time: Flight Duration: Seeding Start: Seeding Duration: Seeding Altitude: Catchments Targeted:
19 May 2011 14:56 EST 3 hrs 1 min 16:24 EST 1 hr 2 min 12,000ft Gordon
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Cloud Seeding
Hydro Tasmania started seeding in Tasmania in 1964. Below is a list of seeding work, and associated target areas completed: 1964-1971: Seeding was conducted in alternate years over the Central Plateau area (Great Lake), and concluded in 1971 when the reservoirs were at the full supply level.
Upper Pieman
Mersey Forth
Great Lake
Gordon
Upper Derwent
1979 1983: Seeding was conducted on the Central Plateau target area. 1988-1991: Seeding was conducted on the Central
The decision to fly is made by the cloud seeding duty officer. All cloud seeding officers are trained in weather forecasting. They base the decision to fly on available weather information (including satellite, radar etc.) provided by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and on their own experience.
There have been numerous studies undertaken by CSIRO and by the Antarctic Cooperative Research Centre that have shown cloud seeding does not cause any detectable increase in rainfall outside the identified target area.
If you would like to know anything else about Hydro Tasmanias cloud seeding program please email us at contactus@hydro.com.au.
Does cloud seeding cause decreases in rainfall downwind of the target catchment areas?
Studies undertaken by CSIRO and by the Antarctic Cooperative Research Centre show that cloud seeding does not cause any measurable decrease in rainfall downwind of the target areas.
Who decides when and where Hydro Tasmania will carry out cloud seeding operations?