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China, in Search of Water, is Building a Rain-Making Network Three Times the Size of Spain (scmp.com)
China is testing cutting-edge defence technology to develop a powerful yet relatively low-cost weather modification system to bring substantially more rain to the Tibetan plateau, Asia's biggest freshwater reserve. From a report: The system, which involves an enormous network of fuel-burning chambers installed high up on the Tibetan mountains, could increase rainfall in the region by up to 10 billion cubic metres a year -- about 7 per cent of China's total water consumption -- according to researchers involved in the project. Tens of thousands of chambers will be built at selected locations across the Tibetan plateau to produce rainfall over a total area of about 1.6 million square kilometres (620,000 square miles), or three times the size of Spain. It will be the world's biggest such project.
The chambers burn solid fuel to produce silver iodide, a cloud-seeding agent with a crystalline structure much like ice. The chambers stand on steep mountain ridges facing the moist monsoon from south Asia. As wind hits the mountain, it produces an upward draft and sweeps the particles into the clouds to induce rain and snow.
The chambers burn solid fuel to produce silver iodide, a cloud-seeding agent with a crystalline structure much like ice. The chambers stand on steep mountain ridges facing the moist monsoon from south Asia. As wind hits the mountain, it produces an upward draft and sweeps the particles into the clouds to induce rain and snow.
This won't increase total precipitation. Either the moisture is moving and raining somewhere which doesn't run to the water table attached to the reservoir, or all of this water is already coming down as rain. Are they stealing rain from another province over?
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I wonder who may loose out on the rain then? Also, I bet, China won't give a rat's ass as long as they have the stronger military and with annual growth of military spending in the double digits the rest of the world should better look out.
When 1person suffers from a delusion,it is called insanity.When many people suffer from a delusion,it is called religion
professor higgins: "the rain in spain stays mainly in the plain" ...hold my oolong...
chinese scientists:
Good people go to bed earlier.
Isn't it kind of expensive to use up all that silver? Or does it not really use very much silver? (Or is that just a name?)
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
This is China you're talking about. You shoot first, ask environmental questions later.
Ezekiel 23:20
All that new world silver the spaniards were pillaging went to china, and they don't like to share :), except for opium....
http://www.chineseargent.com/h...
It's obviously an intent to weaponize weather - it says right in TFS "cutting edge defense technology".
Poison drywall, poison toothpaste, poison dogfood, and now poison rain. Chinese leaders are mimicking Jack Nicholson's joker
Finally, that line has a purpose.
Thanks for the laugh.
The Yellow Menace is stealing our precious bodily fluids!
By forcing rain to fall on Chinese soil... they are effectively inducing a drought elsewhere. Say now, the south of Russia becomes incredibly dry because there is no rain. China has no regard for absolutely anything. They take a technology and simply use it, asking no questions.
What are the dry-to-be countries in the area do, then?
Who has the resources and guts to stand up to them?
China has the worlds largest population, and a large land area (About the same as the United States) if forced into a war-time economy they would be able to kick the butt of any other nation. Including the United States which has the largest standing army, but China has a potential army.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
I'm no climatologist, but China mass-draining the monsoons of suspended water can't have anything but nearly catastrophic effects on down-wind ecosystems that have evolved over hundreds of millions of years to exist compatibly with current moisture patterns.
If they pull the moisture out of the air to get it to fall in Tibet, then it won't be there to fall wherever those air currents normally dump it - Eastern Russia, Northern China, or maybe even Japan. It would seem that relatively-dessicated air masses may behave unpredictably as well.
-Styopa
Would RO desalination plants be cheaper?
Than a small device burning a chemical? Not likely. Desalination plants are expensive and cranky of maintenance.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Manmade Climate Change deniers. /s
Seriously, is there weather modeling software that can do some predictive analysis of what this means to everyone else in the region? And what impact this meddling may have on global weather patters?
Seems a bit more practical to build some desalinization plants. From what I have understood, recent advancements in membrane tech would make it far cheaper than in the past. Plus, there is the added benefit of lithium production.
https://www.ft.com/content/107...
It's possible they are learning. TFA does mention that the government might not green light it because they are worried about the down-stream effects (no pun intended).
China has been pushing really hard, maybe harder than anyone to clean up its environment and deal with climate change. They started in a very bad place, hit peak coal a few years ago, installed more wind than the rest of the world combined... It's not perfect by any means but they seem to be serious about it.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
" they can just stop and put things back to where they were" wrong question, will they want to. I suppose if it causes problems for their country, such as massive uncontrollable flooding, they might put it back. But as long as the negative impact to them is minimal and it gives them more resources, what would be their incentive? I can think of a few but those fall under 'might makes right'.
Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.
You're assuming that potential army has enough incentive to fight. See the Vietnam military action for an example. Water is a good reason to fight but will it incite the common person enough? Assuming the potential army would be made up of primarily common people. Also, training. I wonder how the water situation in South Africa is impacting the society there.
Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.
The collected rain will probably be used for food production and drinking water. If the crops accumulate this silver iodide and then ingested, then what happens?
It is not entirely safe. From toxnet (https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/a?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+2930):
(It does not mention increased cancer risk, however, and no concentrations are mentioned, and hopefully the concentrations will be small)
1) MILD TO MODERATE ORAL TOXICITY: Patients with mild
ingestions may only develop irritation or grade I
(superficial hyperemia and edema) burns of the
oropharynx, esophagus or stomach; acute or chronic
complications are unlikely. Patients with moderate
toxicity may develop grade II burns (superficial
blisters, erosions and ulcerations) are at risk for
subsequent stricture formation, particularly
esophageal. Some patients (particularly young
children) may develop upper airway edema.
a) Alkaline corrosive ingestion may produce burns to the
oropharynx, upper airway, esophagus and occasionally
stomach. Spontaneous vomiting may occur. The absence
of visible oral burns does NOT reliably exclude the
presence of esophageal burns. The presence of
stridor, vomiting, drooling, and abdominal pain are
associated with serious esophageal injury in most
cases.
b) PREDICTIVE: The grade of mucosal injury at endoscopy
is the strongest predictive factor for the occurrence
of systemic and GI complications and mortality.
2) SEVERE ORAL TOXICITY: May develop deep burns and
necrosis of the gastrointestinal mucosa. Complications
often include perforation (esophageal, gastric, rarely
duodenal), fistula formation (tracheoesophageal,
aortoesophageal), and gastrointestinal bleeding.
Hypotension, tachycardia, tachypnea and, rarely, fever
may develop. Stricture formation (esophageal, less
often oral or gastric) is likely to develop long term.
Esophageal carcinoma is another long term
They're definitely learning. The question is how quickly and how evenly is the experience applied. E.g., coal is probably not popular right now, but I guess the main reason is the air in large cities. How the "less visible" environmental issues are perceived right now in China, I have no idea.
Ezekiel 23:20
Than thousands of devices burning a chemical. Plus, delivering the chemical fuel to each of the devices. Repairing them, replacing them, etc, etc, etc....
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
Hungry people are dangerous. Of course the Chinese military can handle their neighbors okay.
about China's intentions when they 'develop' anything in the hinterlands, is how this will assist them in destroying or diminishing the indigenous, non-Chinese, population.
Especially in Tibet.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
Unfortunately, the Tibetan plateau has few coastlines to supply the salt water for desalinization.
Aside from the climate effects, what is the effect of putting a lot of siilver in the environment? Is everyone in China going to come down with Argyria? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Yea, like Tibet. Its sad that the Chineese government had to murder so many peaceful Bhuddists to feed their insatiable growth and egos.
Its the government of China that is causung genocide in Tibet...it's citizens are kept from knowing the truth. Bur realize, the same things happen in the US and othet countries too. Can you imagine what North America wad like before Europeans killed the natives and paved paradise?
The last time I seeded a cloud, I just had to install OpenStack
120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Also install beavers on every little creek which will help as they build deep ponds that cut into evaporation compared to wide shallow ones while building up water stores and reclaiming land from scrub.
This from PBS last night.
Oh, also the beaver family installs will warm your heart.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
This article brings up the idea of climate wars in which a nation-state substantially affects the weather to damage another’s interests.
It would also create win-win situation, bringing more water in China while removing excess water from flood suffering neighbor. The real problem is that we have no clue of actual consequences.on our actions on such a complex system.
I remember when the US did something like this. There was such an international hue and cry that it was given over. Of course nowadays we have to be nice to totalitarians, so we'll probably not complain.