There's no evidence to suggest it played a role in the 2022 floods in southeastern Australia, either. Experts said that the floods in Australia were naturally occurring and cloud seeding cannot cause flooding. customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters youd like to receive. On March 30, 2022, BBC News reported that thousands of people had to evacuate their homes due to a severe flood on the east coast of Australia. Try refreshing this page and updating them one Source: Snowy Hydro. Design thinking was supposed to fix the world. Sarah Tessendorf, a project scientist at the Colorado-based National Center for Atmospheric Research who leads the centers work on cloud seeding, told the AP that claims linking the process to flooding lack an understanding of how cloud seeding works. CLAIM: A rain-enhancing process known as cloud seeding caused historic flooding in Tasmania, Australia, in 2016 and along Australia's southeastern coast this year. March 8, 2022 . Australia's 2022 floods have seen Brisbane's Southbank hit by a 'rain bomb'. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The post's caption states, "There were no flood warnings for the area in Tasmania targeted by a cloud-seeding operation the day before floods devastated the town of Ouse." Laurel Ruma: From MIT Technology Review, I'm Laurel Ruma, and this is Business Lab. Some of the natural sources include bushfires, volcanoes and dust storms, while artificial sources of condensation nuclei include industry emissions and cloud seeding operations. Conspiracy theorists claim the motive for 'elites' carrying out a 'weather attack', which have seen communities around Byron Bay and Lismore underwater is to move people into 'smart cities'. As you know, cold clouds with sub-zero temperatures are also present in the atmosphere. This nanoengineered shell core structured material can be activated at much broader relative humidity conditions such as about 65%. more time. Then we can later analyze at what stage the droplets formed and at what number and size of the droplets. Prime inner-city areas including much of the South Bank precinct are underwater. After cloud seeding activities were carried out to bring precipitation, some parts of China's Chongqing welcomed long-awaited rains recently, but experts warned that the city and the region should prepare for possible flooding and landslides. Unattached supercooled water vapour molecules in the clouds condense around these particles. There was a high degree of luck in terms of where we started from [with Wivenhoe Dam], he says, adding that the climate crisis will only raise the risk of future events. (Photo: Flooding in Loganlea, Queensland on Feb. 28, 2022. Cloud seeding gives these clouds a lot more ice crystals (or cloud nuclei). It involves manipulating existing clouds to try and help them produce more rain or snow. Silver Iodide is safe to use in cloud seeding operations because it is found naturally in the atmosphere, soil and sediments of the Snowy Mountains region. Often, a compound like Silver Iodine (AgI) is used as the particulate matter, as it is naturally occurring in the world in low concentrations. Here are the tales of two unsuccessful Queensland rainmaking experiments -Brisbane, 1882 Advertisement, The Brisbane Courier, January 31, 1882In January . Once such cloud encounters the ice nucleation particles, they rapidly form a large number of ice crystals and bypass the liquid water phase. At least 3,600 homes are flooded in Gympie. "We had really violent threatening stuff coming through. Centrelink jobseeker overhauled with new 'point-based system' . Snowy Hydro also has other criteria for cloud seeding which includes; In addition to these atmospheric conditions, Snowy Hydro also takes into account the amount of water already in the landscape. History of cloud seeding in Australia 7.5 Americans made the discovery in 1946 that pellets of dry ice could induce precipitation from clouds. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Information supplied by Weatherzone based on data provided by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), Copyright 2023 Weatherzone | v6.5.8 (b498), Note to media: You are welcome to republish text from the above news article as direct quotes from Weatherzone. Why Is the Government Cloud Seeding in NSW's Over the Areas That Have Just Been Ravaged by Floods? Business Lab is a production of MIT Technology Review. Multiple posts on Facebook - as seen here, here and here - attempt to link Australia's floods with cloud seeding and possible government manipulation of the weather. As floods devastated Australia's east coast, social media posts accused a pilot of causing the disaster through cloud seeding, a weather modification technique that involves dropping a rain-inducing chemical into clouds. Adkins said the crew involved in the seeding reported some effect . Feast to Famine: Mass Floods and Australia's High-Speed Rail. The extra water produced from cloud seeding can sit in water storages for multiple years. Pictured: Homes inundated by floodwater in Lismore, NSW, James Bartolo (pictured) is a former bodybuilder who promotes a range of bizarre conspiracies. An atmospheric research expert told The Associated Press that cloud seeding would not change the dynamics of a cloud enough to cause massive flooding' (https://bit.ly/3NwnqJq). But a probe by the Tasmanian government into the 2016 flooding has since been completed, and investigators and expert atmospheric scientists found that cloud seeding by Hydro Tasmania, a government-owned generator of renewable energy, did not contribute to or worsen the heavy rains. Brisbane suffered major flooding, along with the cities of Maryborough, Gympie, the Sunshine Coast, Caboolture, Toowoomba, Gatton, Ipswich, Logan City, the . Recent social media posts claim that the 2022 floods in Australia were caused or exacerbated due to cloud seeding. Cloud seeding, first developed in the 1940s, involves spraying fine particles of silver iodide and dry ice into a cloud system. Cloud seeding adds small, ice-like particles to clouds. Social media users are sharing a news clip from 2016 about cloud seeding the day before a severe flood in Southern Tasmania. The pilot's aviation company said it was conducting aerial surveys for a . We designed and fabricated a porous nanocomposite of 3D reduced graphite oxide and silica dioxide nanoparticles. The key factors of a successful cloud seeding operation include, first, identifying the suitable cloud for seeding. A Facebook post with over 23K views asserts this claim with footage from a news broadcast about cloud seeding before a severe flood in Southern Tasmania. Cloud seeding got its start in 1947, with General Electric scientists working under a military contract to find a way to de-ice planes in cold weather and create fog to obscure troop movements. A dangerous and bizarre conspiracy theory is circulating that the devastating floods which have torn through Australia's . In Australia, cloud seeding is used in some areas to increase surface water runoff for use in the production of hydropower. It's very promising to know more about the effects of this seeding material. My research work has been supported in their first cycle and received excellent worldwide exposure. AP'S ASSESSMENT: False. upcoming events, and more. CLAIM: A rain-enhancing process known as cloud seeding caused historic flooding in Tasmania, Australia, in 2016 and along Australias southeastern coast this year. So how did it come about, and how does it compare to the 2011 Brisbane disaster? 2. that happened throughout February and March in Queensland and New South Wales, leading to more than a dozen deaths. Laurel: Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification that mimics what naturally occurs in clouds but enhances the process by adding particles that can stimulate and accelerate the condensation process. This process is known as glaciogenic cloud seeding. Scientists blame intense rainfall on a combination of factors - but, on social media, unfounded allegations of "weather manipulation" have spread widely. There's no evidence to suggest it played a role in the 2022 floods in southeastern Australia, either. Tuesday, March 7 (First round) Game 1: (12) Virginia Tech vs. (13) Georgia Tech | 2 p.m. | ACC Network . This stored water can help ensure renewable energy generation and downstream water availability during future drier years, when inflows are lower. The 'ice embryos' interact with the surrounding water droplets, and eventually grow to snowflakes. Laurel: Could you describe that weather chamber that you used in your experiments? Theres a small one, a medium one, and a large one. Where did it go wrong. Dr. Zou: Yeah. Somerset Dam, that can feed Wivenhoe, also starts to rapidly fill, going from 80% to 148% in one day. Ice nucleation is important. Our recent flights over flooded areas of NSW and QLD are in response to the floods," a statement on the Handel Aviation website reads. Dr. Zou: Yeah. The small one could be 20 meters and the large one could be like a building. 2022. "Cloud seeding aims to enhance the amount of rain falling from rain-bearing clouds," Mr McNamara said. Siems, a professor who leads a Monash University team studying clouds and precipitation, said the practice is not conducted in the Northern Rivers region and it cannot cause flooding. Brisbane has two features that make it susceptible to flooding. Top Stories. The process works by shooting microscopic particles of silver iodide into existing clouds using land based generators or aircraft. This podcast episode was produced by Insights, the custom content arm of MIT Technology Review. Singapore should also build more drainage canals to effectively reduce the occurrence of . Another weapon used to flood everyone,' a third wrote. Share. Dr. Zou: Yes, you are right. You took this on as part of your research. Artist depiction of cloud seeding drones. This is part of APs effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Dr. Zou's research interests include applying nanotechnology and membrane science to the development of low energy and high efficiency novel desalination and water purification solutions. Experimental cloud seeding technology does actually exist and has been used in places like China and the UAE. Archives of Handel Aviations website dating back to 2008 show that cloud seeding services have never been mentioned or offered on its site and there is no evidence that the company has been involved with the process. Source: nationalparks.nsw.gov.au So it is a synergistic effect. China, which already artificially alters its weather over major cities, plans to be able to modify weather over half its territory by 2025, to the alarm of neighbours including India. Media reports estimated at least 22 . She was awarded a grant by the UAE Research Program on rain enhancement science from 2016 to 2019. The amount of liquid water in the atmosphere below freezing (supercooled liquid water). Were having trouble saving your preferences. Covered in this AustraliaOne Update -. In a 2016 news report from the Australian TV network 7News, the broadcasters discuss Tasmanians' worries that cloud seeding might have contributed to the state's worst floods in forty years. As well as the rising river levels, the amount of rain falling locally causes flash floods all across the city and its outer suburbs as creeks swell, inundating areas that escaped the 2011 floods. In my project, we have changed the surface of the material to make it more reactive so it can work at a lower and wider relative humidity to make it more likely to happen. Cloud condensation nuclei can be introduced into the atmosphere naturally or artificially. In Australia, a La Nia increases the likelihood of rain, cyclones, and cooler daytime temperatures. Cloud seeding involves adding small particles into existing clouds to help them grow. Leverage advanced weather intelligence and decisioning tools for your enterprise business. So far, there are no reports of cloud seeding or floods in Tasmania in 2022. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has expressed her concern over the impact of the floods as the state is inundated by rain. This show is available wherever you get your podcasts. Question is why?' The photograph shows two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) DC-3 planes flying above some cumulus clouds. A spokesman for the state's water authority says the dam doesn't have a flood mitigation component, so no water was released ahead of the downpour, which came when the state's dam network . one wrote. The flooding in October 2022 is the latest in a series of major floods to affect eastern Australia since unusually wet conditions began in early 2021. An amusement ride is seen inundated by floodwaters in Sydney. Steven Siems, from Monash University's School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment, is a cloud expert. Reuters quoted the Bureau of Meteorology, which said Sydney had received 1,227 mm (48 inches) of rain so far this year, more than its average annual rainfall of 1,213 mm adding that many coastal towns could see up to 180 mm (7 inches) of rainfall. Cloud seeding was first trialled in Australia in 1947 when the CSIRO got up in a light plane and released crushed dry ice into promising-looking clouds. Property damage. 4m ago. Laurel: That was Dr. Linda Zou, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Khalifa University of Science and Technology, who I spoke with from Cambridge, Massachusetts, the home of MIT and MIT Technology Review, overlooking the Charles River. A record-breaking and relentless deluge that lasted days and flooded towns and cities along Queenslands south-east coast, submerging thousands of homes and leaving at least nine people dead. Defence and National Security Intelligence. Some of those he contacted were surprised or angry, Berko said. For the third time this year, Sydney has been hit by major floods. Many of the accounts seen by the BBC posting this type of content have also shared other conspiracy theories involving global warming, Covid vaccines, and the Moon landings. The first cloud seeding trials were carried out by Kraus and Squires (1947) near Sydney. It compare to the 2011 Brisbane disaster lot more ice crystals and the! And cloud seeding in NSW & # x27 ; an amusement ride is seen inundated by in. Be activated at much broader relative humidity conditions such as about 65 % on rain enhancement science 2016... Them produce more rain or snow recent social media users are sharing a news clip from 2016 to 2019 in. 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