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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.
This is China you're talking about. You shoot first, ask environmental questions later.
Ezekiel 23:20
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?
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
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
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
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.
We're down to just distilled water, and pure grain alcohol.
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.
The last time I seeded a cloud, I just had to install OpenStack
120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
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