The Watchers-by NIX - March 5, 2013
Cloud seeding, a form of weather modification, is the attempt to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds, by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, which alter the microphysical processes within the cloud. The usual intent is to increase precipitation (rain or snow), but hail and fog suppression are also widely practiced in airports.
The most common chemicals used for cloud seeding include silver iodide and dry ice (solid carbon dioxide). Credit:Wiki
Indonesian scientists speculated that inducing clouds over ocean before they reach Jakarta will prevent further flooding of the city. Following government orders, military planes carrying tonnes of salt began the cloud seeding operation scattering salt onto rain clouds across the ocean. Tri Handoko Seto, a top official of the Weather Modification Technical Unit of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, told SciDev.Net,
“We are mimicking nature. It is easy to make rain in most clouds above the sea. We found out that salt from sea water, which evaporates from the sea, accelerates the rain process because it encourages the cloud particles to adsorb water.
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