|
Atmospheric water in the form of precipitation is one
of the primary sources of fresh water in the world.
However, a large amount of water present in clouds never
is transformed into precipitation on the ground. This
has prompted scientists and engineers to explore the
possibility of augmenting water supplies by means of
cloud seeding. Although some projects have successfully
documented increases in precipitation due to seeding,
others have shown a decrease while the majority of projects
have yielded inconclusive results. The reason for this
is that physical mechanisms of cloud and precipitation
development in the atmosphere are much more complex
than earlier anticipated, thus the initial optimism
in the 1950's and 1960's has given way to a more cautious
approach.
Water is of critical importance to economic activities
in the Puglia region of Italy. Puglia is one of the
primary agricultural areas in Italy and water for irrigation
is widely applied. During the past several decades,
recurring droughts have had severe impacts on reservoir
levels and underground water supplies and, therefore,
the economy. Underground water levels have gradually
declined with the effect that along several coastal
parts sea-water intrusion has become a major problem.
Authorities have been investigating the potential for
cloud seeding to enhance rainfall since the middle of
the 1980's which resulted in servarel programs conducted
in this region in the later 1980's and early 1990's.
The continuing water shortage in this region has prompted
the authorities to once again explore the possibility
of enhancing precipitation via cloud seeding.
Before any cloud seeding operations are conducted,
it is important to determine the existance and frequency
of occurances of suitable clouds for any given area.
There are two important aspects to this investigation.
1) Determine, based on climatological datea, what the
frequency and type of clouds there are and how precipitation
is associated with these clouds, and 2) Determine the
microphysical and dynamical characteristics of the natural
clouds of the region. Armed with this knowledge, the
most effective cloud seeding technique can be determined.
Scientists from the Research Applications Laboratory
(RAL) of the National Center for Atmospheric Research
(NCAR), in colloboration with AEROTECH SA, will assist
the authorities in Puglia, Italy in conducting a feasibility
study to design and execute precipitation enhancement
operations via cloud seeding throughout the region.
The field campaign commences on 1 November 2004 and
will continue through 1 March 2005. This website is
designed to support the field campaign.
|
