Programme Al Ghait - Morocco Winter Snowpack Augmentation Project: A Cooperative Project between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States

摘要

In response to a severe, prolonged drought, the Agency for International Development (A.I.D.) and the Government of Morocco initiated a joint effort in 1983 to utilize weather modification techniques to augment rainfall. The project uses silver iodide as a seeding agent to increase the precipitation efficiency of cold clouds in the Central High Atlas Mountains. The silver iodide is released from aircraft, ground-based seeding generators, or both during periods when seedable clouds exist in the target area. Field operations conducted from 1984 to 1989 resulted in the seeding of 15-25 storm events during each season, with a total of 144 seeded days during the 5 years. The report evaluates the project in terms of its scientific design; institutional development and infrastructure; technology transfer; cloud seeding operations; scientific, hydrologic, and economic studies; and evaluation. The contributions of the Moroccan and U.S. governments are also assessed.