Autonomous Cloud Seeding Aircraft Successfully Tested in Nevada

I can see the need for a sustainable solution to the water crisis effecting places like California but feel uneasy with climate manipulation , Newton's third law teaches us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction , I don't think we are smart enough to start messing with the thing that gives us life.

Cloud seeding flare tests were deployed from Drone America's DAx8 UAS aircraft flown in Reno in late January.

As the first phase in a new industry-academic research partnership between the Desert Research Institute (DRI), Drone America, and AviSight, the test flight of a DAx8 multi-rotor aircraft with attached cloud seeding cargo validates the potential for UAS to significantly enhance airborne seeding operations, explained Adam Watts, Ph.D, the project's lead and an assistant research professor at DRI.

"This is a major milestone," said Watts. "Utilizing our state's FAA test site designation, we were able to fly this advanced aircraft right here in Northern Nevada and verify that UAS are fully capable of carrying active cloud seeding payloads."
www.sciencedaily.com...

Small scale now but if the project is successful the prospect is there for global applications which would surley have a knock on effect.

Irrational or valid concern ?

a reply to: gortex

Let mother nature do her thang... We shouldn't interfere with that. Like Newton said..

a reply to: gortex

Yaay, a 'good' repurpose for drones.

Unless they crash, or cost too much. Mountain top silver iodide flare stations are employed in California, much cheaper and easier to influence the storm front.

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Newton's third law teaches us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction

a reply to: gortex

And that law was applied to physics-not karma, chemistry, or biology.

But back on topic I favor the percussive method i.e simulating thunder to 'shake' moisture from clouds. I agree that there is risk involved but isn't drought a far greater concern? crops need water, we need crops.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Newton's third law applies to motion , the atmosphere and global weather patterns are in constant motion so adding new dynamics where there were none could possibly upset the apple cart if it were done on a large scale , the main driver behind the initiative is a company so I would imagine growth is in their plan.

We still don't properly understand the complexities of our atmosphere and weather patterns so I think it premature for us to be contemplating trying to shape it , which is where I think this is headed.

It may be just an irrational fear but for now I think it's best left alone.

a reply to: gortex

Very valid concern, which is why I advocate having as small an impact on the environment ("positive" or "negative") as humans can, but if we do impact it, we should not try to revers anything by manipulating natural processes: We have no idea what the unintended consequences could be, and they could easily make things worse.

There was a thread on here a week or two back that discussed this exact thing as being verified as happening in the Los Angeles skies, and my comments then discussed cause-and-effect: It's like damming up a stream to give one area more water without regard to the areas downstream that need water, too. The moisture in the atmosphere is relatively finite, so if the western US starts sucking it all out, the Great Plains area will see another dust bowl before we know it, and the Rocky Mountains will be lacking snow (and the resulting melt water). The Colorado river would possibly dry to a trickle, and then those western states that rely on water from the Colorado would start wondering why there's no water for them available anymore.

Or I'm overthinking it...but I'm not.

I seem to be of the opposite opinion from most of you. I believe that technology is going to one day bring a true paradise to earth. Cloud seeding could lead to no more droughts ever again. You say that we don't know what the side effects will be . This is true, but what we do know is what happens if we let drought continue.

a reply to: gortex

Look I used to think the same when it came to this. Let mother nature do it's thing. But then if you think about it, since when has man done that? We built damn to dry up rivers, bring in electricity and technology. We already been on that route for hundreds of years. Cloud seeding is just the next step in our legacy. Now where the water is gonna come from is another story. One place gets water, another will get less.