Ice Crystal Inhibition (ICI Project). An Applications Program of Chemical Dispersal in Small Cumulus Clouds,

摘要

The application of chemicals to small cumulus clouds was accomplished with a turbocharged Piper Navajo aircraft. This aricraft has an altitude capability of 30,000ft msl and is equipped for general cloud seeding programs throughout the United States. This equipment included special holding racks for a variety of pyrotechnic devices and wing-tip mounted liquid fuel generators primarily designed for burning a mixture of Agl-NH4l in acetone. These wing-tip generators were used to disperse the unburned chemical material during the field experiments. Attempts were made to choose small cumulus clouds (tops less than 20,000ft msl) which were maintaining a reasonably long life span through a series of pusling turret developments. Additionally,attempts were made to choose clouds which were showing significant glaciation toward the end of each pulsing cycle. The applications plan was simply to disperse chemical material in the strong inflow region at cloud base when an individual turret was in the vertical development stage,yet had not reached the point of significant glaciation. Observations from the aircraft were to follow with emphasis on the visual detection of ice crystal formation in both time and space. The report summarizes the aerial applications experiment and presents some tentative conclusions drawn from the overall ovservations.