In the wake of a disaster, its not unusual for individuals to try to find responses anywhere they can discover them.
The destructive floods in Texas are no exception.There are numerous potential reasons why a lot of people were killed by the swiftly rising waters, however one that some people have actually settled on is a practice known as cloud seeding.
They claim that a cloud-seeding startup known as Rainmaker caused the storm to drop more rain than it otherwise would have.
The data does not back up their concerns.Its real that Rainmaker was operating in that area a few days before the storm, but in spite of the online chatter, cloud seeding had nothing to do with the floods, stated Katja Friedrich, a climatic researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder.Its just a total conspiracy theory.
Somebody is searching for somebody to blame, Bob Rauber, a teacher of atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois, told A Technology NewsRoom.Cloud seeding is absolutely nothing brand-new.
It has been practiced considering that the 1950s, Rauber said.
It works by spraying little particles into clouds, normally made from silver iodide.Silver iodide particles simulate the shape of ice crystals, so when they run into super-cooled water beads water that stays liquid listed below the freezing point they set off the beads to freeze into ice.
That freezing is necessary, Rauber said.
Ice crystals grow in size quicker than super-cooled water drops, indicating they are most likely to record sufficient water vapor to become large enough to fall out of the cloud.
If they had actually remained as super-cooled water, theres a good chance they would ultimately evaporate.Only clouds that have a sufficient quantity of super-cooled water are good candidates for cloud seeding.In the U.S., a lot of cloud seeding occurs in the winter season near range of mountains in the West.
There, clouds form as the mountains push the air greater, triggering it to cool and the water vapor to condense.
If correctly seeded, such clouds will release a few of that water as snow, which is then cooped as snowpack, forming a natural reservoir that, throughout spring melts, replenishes artificial tanks held behind dams.Though people have actually been seeding clouds for years, its impact on rainfall is a more recent area of research study.
We truly didnt have the innovations to evaluate it till just recently, Rauber said.In early 2017, Friedrich, Rauber, and their associates started a business in Idaho to carry out among the most detailed research studies of cloud seeding to date.
On 3 occasions, they seeded clouds for a total of 2 hours and 10 minutes.
It was enough to add around 186 million gallons of additional precipitation.That may seem like a lot, and for drought-stricken Western states, it can make a distinction.
Idaho Power seeds many clouds throughout the winter season to boost the amount of water being collected behind their dams so they can generate electrical power throughout the year.
Their information shows that its economical for them, Rauber said.But compared with a big storm, 186 million gallons is peanuts.
When we discuss that huge storm that accompanied the flooding [in Texas], were actually discussing the atmosphere processing trillions of gallons of water, he said.If Rainmaker affected the storm, it was so minuscule that it would hardly have been a rounding error.
The reality is, it didnt.For beginners, the business was seeding neighboring clouds days before the storm hit.
The air that was over that area 2 days in the past was probably someplace over Canada by the time that storm took place, Rauber said.Second, its not clear whether cloud seeding is as effective in the cumulus clouds that take place in Texas in the summer season.
Theyre distinct from the orographic clouds that form near range of mountains, and they do not respond the very same to cloud seeding.
For one, they tend to be temporary and dont produce a great deal of rainfall.
Cloud seeders might try to coax more out of them anyway, but the quantity of rain that comes out of those seeded clouds is little, Rauber said.Those that do last enough time? Clouds that are deep, like thunderstorms, the natural processes are just fine, he said.
Those clouds are extremely effective.
Seeding those clouds is not going to do anything.