Regulation of Precipitation from Convective Clouds by Seeding with Ice Nuclei at the Level of Updraft Formation

Abstract

The author propose a new method for cloud modification that does not involve rockets and aircrafts. It is based on some works in the field of protecting agricultural crops from hail using the rocket technology, as well as the achievements in the cloud modification using ground-based generators in Brazil. The new method is founded on the experimental data and theoretical calculations of the behavior of ice-nucleating particles in case of their generation near the ground and at the height close to the level of free convection during air-mass and frontal precipitation-forming processes. It is proposed to introduce ice-nucleating particles to the level of convective flux formation so that then the particles enter the area of origin and growth of hail in a cloud cell on their own. In the rocket technology, the identification of this area is one of the major difficulties of radiolocation. The proposed technique provides the ice-nucleating particle delivery to the hail area without any use of radiolocation. The method also allows avoiding safety problems arising from launching rockets over densely populated areas.