• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.117-129
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• 2022

In this study, we investigated the characteristics of the meteorological and environmental conditions for a cloud seeding experiment over the Korean peninsula and estimated the available days for the same. The conditions of available days appropriate for a cloud seeding experiment were classified according to four purposes: water resources, drought relief, forest fire prevention, and air quality improvement. The average number of available days for a cloud seeding experiment were 91.27 (water resources), 45.93-51.11 (drought relief), 40.28-46.00 (forest fire prevention), and 42.19-44.60 days/year (air quality improvement). If six experiments were carried out per available day for a cloud seeding experiment, the number of times cloud seeding experiments could be conducted per year in a continuously operating system were estimated as 547.62 (water resources), 275.58-306.66 (drought relief), 241.68-276.00 (forest fire prevention), and 253.14-267.60 times/year (air quality improvement). From this result, it was possible to determine the appropriate meteorological and environmental conditions and statistically estimate the available days for a cloud seeding experiment. The data on the available days for a cloud seeding experiment might be useful for preparing and performing such an experiment.

• Atmosphere
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.481-499
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• 2019

National Institute of Meteorological Sciences has conducted a total 54 cloud seeding experiments with a silver iodide and calcium chloride using aircrafts from 2008 to 2018. The goal of the experiments is to improve the techniques of precipitation enhancement in Korea. The cloud seeding experiments using the silver iodide and calcium chloride were 36 and 18 times, respectively. During the cloud seeding experiments of the silver iodide and calcium chloride, the average values of total cloud amount for two kinds of seeding materials were 9.6 for and 8.1, respectively. The cloud type with the highest occurrence was Nimbostratus (Ns)-Stratus (St) (58%) in the silver iodide cloud seeding experiment. It was Altostratus (As)-Stratocumulus (Sc) (44%) in the calcium chloride cloud seeding experiment. Compared to probability of obtaining cloud seeding effect of the experiments using a leased aircraft, the probability using an atmospheric research aircraft increased from 43% to 63% in the silver iodide cloud seeding experiment and from 29% to 75% in the calcium chloride cloud seeding experiment. However, the increasing tendency was only shown during the one year experiment (2018). To get the meaningful statistical tendency of the cloud seeding effects, it is needed to implement many experiments in several years. Further we have to more clearly understand the characteristics of clouds developing in Korea and implement the cloud seeding experiments under a variety of weather conditions in order to develop the optimized precipitation enhancement technology in Korea.

• Atmosphere
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.609-614
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• 2019

Cloud seeding experiment has been proposed as a way to alleviate severe air pollution problem because, if successful, artificially produced precipitation through cloud seeding could scavenge out some portion of air pollutants. As a first step to verify the practicality of such experiment, seedability of the clouds observed in Seoul is assessed by examining statistical characteristics of some relevant meteorological variables. Analyses of 9 years of Korea Meteorological Agency Seoul station data indicate that as PM₁₀ mass concentration increases, cloud amount, liquid water path, and ice water path decrease, but the difference between temperature and dew point temperature tends to increase. Such finding suggests that cloud seeding becomes less feasible as air pollution becomes more severe in the Seoul metropolitan area, at least in a statistical sense. For some individual severe air pollution events, however, seedable clouds may exist and indeed cloud seeding experiments can be successful. Therefore, detailed investigation on cloud seedability for individual severe air pollution events are highly required to make a concrete assessment of cloud seeding as a way to alleviate severe air pollution problem.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1027-1039
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• 2021

In this study, we investigated the optimal meteorological conditions for cloud seeding using aircraft over the Korean Peninsula. The weather conditions were analyzed using various data sources such as a weather chart, upper air observation, aircraft observation, and a numerical model for cloud seeding experiments conducted from 2018 to 2019 by the National Institute of Meteorological Sciences, Korea Meteorological Administration. Cloud seeding experiments were performed in the seasons of autumn (37.0%) and winter (40.7%) in the West Sea and Gangwon-do. Silver iodide (70.4%) and calcium chloride (29.6%) were used as cloud seeding materials for the experiments. The cloud seeding experiments used silver iodide in cold clouds. Aircraft observation revealed relatively low temperatures, low liquid water content, and strong wind speeds in clouds with a weak updraft. In warm clouds, the cloud seeding experiments used calcium chloride. Observations included relatively high temperatures, high liquid water content, and weak wind speeds in clouds with a weak updraft. Based upon these results, we determined the comprehensive meteorological conditions for cloud seeding experiments using aircraft over the Korean Peninsula. The understanding of optimal weather conditions for cloud seeding gained from this study provide information critical for performing successful cloud seeding and rain enhancement.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.43-57
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• 2024

The possible experimental time for cloud seeding was analyzed in South Korea. Rain gauge and radar precipitation data collected from September 2017 to August 2022 in from the three main target stations of cloud seeding experimentation (Daegwallyeong, Seoul, and Boryeong) were analyzed. In this study, the assumption that rainfall and cloud enhancement originating from the atmospheric updraft is a necessary condition for the cloud seeding experiment was applied. First, monthly and seasonal means of the precipitation duration and frequency were analyzed and cloud seeding experiments performed in the past were also reanalyzed. Results of analysis indicated that the experiments were possible during a monthly average of 7,025 minutes (117 times) in Daegwallyeong, 4,849 minutes (81 times) in Seoul, and 5,558 minutes (93 times) in Boryeong, if experimental limitations such as the insufficient availability of aircraft is not considered. The seasonal average results showed that the possible experimental time is the highest in summer at all three stations, which seems to be owing to the highest precipitable water in this period. Using the radar-converted precipitation data, the cloud seeding experiments were shown to be possible for 970-1,406 hours (11-16%) per year in these three regions in South Korea. This long possible experimental time suggests that longer duration, more than the previous period of 1 hour, cloud seeding experiments are available, and can contribute to achieving a large accumulated amount of enhanced rainfall.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.899-914
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• 2023

Various seeding materials for cloud seeding are being used, and sodium chloride powder is one of them, which is commonly used. This study analyzed the experimental results of multi-aircraft cloud seeding in connection with Republic of Korea Air Force (CN235) and KMA/NIMS(Korea Meteorological Administration/National Institute of Meteorological Sciences) Atmospheric Research Aircraft. Powdered sodium chloride was used in CN235 for the first time in South Korea. The analysis of the cloud particle size distributions and radar reflectivity before and after cloud seeding showed that the growth efficiency of powdery seeding material in the cloud is slightly higher than that of hygroscopic flare composition in the distribution of number concentrations by cloud aerosol particle diameter (10 ~ 1000 ㎛). Considering the radar reflectivity, precipitation, and numerical model simulation, the enhanced precipitation due to cloud seeding was calculated to be a maximum of 3.7 mm for 6 hours. The simulated seeding effect area was about 3,695 km², which corresponds to 13,634,550 tons of water. In the precipitation component analysis, as a direct verification method, the ion equivalent concentrations (Na⁺, Cl^-, Ca²⁺) of the seeding material at the Bukgangneung site were found to be about 1000 times higher than those of other non-affected areas between about 1 and 2 hours after seeding. This study suggests the possibility of continuous multi-aircraft cloud seeding experiments to accumulate and increase the amount of precipitation enhancement.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.214-218
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• 2014

The main objective of this study is to analyse the influence factors of snowfall enhancement by glaciogenic seeding in a mountainous area. Twenty-five seeding experiments have been conducted during the period of February to April 2010. To use two rates seeding experiments (SR1: $1.04g\;min^{-1}$, SR2: $2.08g\;min^{-1}$) have been tested to get an appropriate ratio for snowfall enhancement at Daegwallyeong area. The conditions of seeding are able as followings: surface temperature <$0^{\circ}C$, wind speed <5 m/s, wind direction between 0 and $130^{\circ}$. The experiment results indicated that in the case of SR1 was more effective than SR2. The number of small ice particles below 1.0 mm was increased during seeding period measured by PARSIVEL disdrometer near generator. Most of snowfall enhancement by seeding was observed the inflow of the easterly wind blew in toward Gangwon regions from the East Sea and the supersaturated supercooled liquid water due to orographic effect.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.53 no.11
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• pp.999-1013
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• 2020

Weather modification research has been actively performed worldwide, but a technology that can more quantitatively prove the research effects are needed. In this study, the seeding effect, the efficiency of precipitation enhancement in weather modification experiment, was verified using the radar data. Also, the effects of seeding material on hydrometeor change was analyzed. For this, radar data, weather conditions, and numerical simulation data for diffusion were applied. First, a method to analyze the seeding effect in three steps was proposed: before seeding, during seeding, and after seeding. The proposed method was applied to three cases of weather modification experiments conducted in Gangwon-do and the West Sea regions. As a result, when there is no natural precipitation, the radar reflectivity detected in the area where precipitation change is expected was determined as the seeding effect. When natural precipitation occurs, the seeding effect was determined by excluding the effect of natural precipitation from the maximum reflectivity detected. For the application results, it was found that the precipitation intensity increased by 0.1 mm/h through the seeding effect. In addition, it was confirmed that ice crystals, supercooled water droplets, and mixed-phase precipitation were distributed in the seeding cloud. The results of these weather modification research can be used to secure water resources as well as for future study of cloud physics.

• Atmosphere
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.35-53
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• 2024

Under the leadership of the National Institute of Meteorological Sciences (NIMS), the first domestic autonomous flight-type weather modification experimental drone for fog and lower-level cloud seeding was developed in 2021. This drone is designed based on a multi-copter configuration with a maximum takeoff weight of approximately 25 kg, enabling the installation of up to four burning flares for seeding materials and facilitating weather observations (temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind) as well as aerosol (PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and PM_1.0) particle measurements. This research aims to introduce the construction of the drone and its recent applications over the past two years, providing insights into the experimental procedures, effectiveness verification, and improvement directions of the weather modification drone-based rain enhancement. In particular, partial confirmation of the experimental effects was obtained through the fog dissipation experiment on December 10, 2021, and the lower-level cloud seeding case study on October 5, 2022. To enhance the scope and rainfall amount of weather modification experiments using drones, various technological approaches, including adjustments to experimental altitude, seeding lines, seeding amount, and verification methods are necessary. Through this research, we aim to propose the development direction for weather modification drone technology, which will serve as foundational technology for practical application of domestic rain enhancement technology.