Cloud Seeding Trial in the Snowy Mountains
Releasing chemicals in the air to create snow-producing clouds… Sounds like sci-fi novel? Well the NSW government has just approved a new cloud seeding trial for the Snowy Mountains area, because snow mass has slowly declined in the last 50 years due to changing global climate conditions. In this new trial, burners release silver iodide when a suitable cloud pattern sets in. This causes supercooled liquid water to form snow crystals, with such a great yield that it should produce enough snow to target a one-thousand square kilometre area. Excess snow then melts into water to drive the turbines in the Snowy Hydro scheme, producing electricity….and cloud seeding should also benefit the snow tourism season. But there are critics of the trial. The Democrats are concerned about how changing rainfall patterns may impact on erosion in fire-affected areas of the Snowy. This is just one aspect, which the Colong Foundation for Wilderness believe is not being adequately assessed. They point out that snow could fall as rain in lower altitudes, destroying the habitat species like the endangered Mountain Pygmy Possum. And they’re also concerned about the levels of silver iodide in the fragile Snowy eco-system. Taya Fabijanic spoke to Eco-Scientist, Allen Keanes from the CSIRO, and Fiona McCrossin, Assistant Director at the Colong Foundation for Wilderness.
CSIRO Atmospheric Research – Cloud Seeding