Page 1090 |
Federation and Meteorology |
|||
Table of Contents
Memories of the Bureau, 1946 to 1962 Foreword Terminology Prologue Preface Chapter 1: The Warren Years, 1946 to 1950 Chapter 2: International Meteorology Chapter 3: The Timcke Years, 1950 to 1955 Chapter 4: A Year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Chapter 5: The Dwyer Years, 1955 to 1962 Leonard Joseph DwyerA Complex Character Reorganising the Bureau Public Weather Services Forecasts for the General Public Importance of Radio Stations The Advent of Television Automatic Telephone Forecast Service Beacons Wording and Verification of Forecasts Warnings Services for Aviation Atomic Weapons Tests Atomic Weapons TestsMosaic G1 and G2 Atomic Weapons TestsBuffalo 1, 2, 3 and 4 Atomic Weapons TestsOperations Antler, 2 and 3 Atomic Weapons TestsMinor Trials Instruments and Observations Radiosondes Radar/Radio Winds and Radar Weather Watch Automatic Weather Stations Sferics Meteorological Satellites Telecommunications Tropical Cyclones Bureau Conference on Tropical Cyclones International Symposium on Tropical Cyclones, Brisbane Hydrometeorology Design of Water Storages, Etc Flood Forecasting Cloud Seeding Reduction of Evaporation Rain Seminar Cloud Physics Fire Weather Research and Special Investigations International Activities The International Geophysical Year The Antarctic and Southern Ocean International Symposium on Antarctic Meteorology International Antarctic Analysis Centre ADP, EDP and Computers Training Publications Management Conference Services Conference CSIRO and the Universities Achievements of the Dwyer Years Chapter 6: A Springboard for the Future Appendix 1: References Appendix 2: Reports, Papers, Manuscripts Appendix 3: Milestones Appendix 4: Acknowledgements Appendix 5: Summary by H. N. Warren of the Operation of the Meteorological Section of Allied Air Headquarters, Brisbane, 194245 Endnotes Index Search Help Contact us |
Cloud Seeding (continued)In the late 1970s/early 1980s WMO asked a Panel of Experts (which included Jack Warner) to prepare a plan for a major field experiment to determine whether cloud seeding increases rainfall. After much consideration the experiment was abandoned. I believe this was because any adequate statistical analysis of the results of such an experiment would require that the experiment should continue for many years and an unequivocal result could not be guaranteed.It was entirely appropriate for CSIRO to investigate cloud seeding. As mentioned in Chapter 1 Vincent Schaefer and Irving Langmuir had made some interesting discoveries in their laboratory about how dry ice could seed an atmosphere and produce growth of ice crystals. I had learnt of this and much of the physics of cloud and precipitation from Houghton's course of physical meteorology at MIT. Taffy Bowen recruited Pat Squires and Eric Kraus to the Division of Radiophysics and employed them on cloud seeding, first with dry ice and then with silver iodide. Problems arose after the apparently successful seeding of cloud over the Blue Mountains. In 193839 Eric Kraus was a student of Jack Bjerknes (son of the famous V. Bjerknes) in Bergen, Norway. With the outbreak of World War II Eric volunteered for service in the French Air Force and when French resistance to the Germans collapsed in 1940 he made his way via Africa and Gibraltar to England where he was commissioned into the RAF. Being trained in meteorology and a qualified pilot he was put in charge of a newly formed long-range meteorological reconnaissance flight of Blenheim bombers and promoted to squadron leader. Eric made the most of the considerable freedom he was given in organising the reconnaissance flight and flew 400 hours of operations in eight months.
People in Bright Sparcs - Bowen, Edward George (Taffy); Dwyer, Leonard Joseph; Squires, Patrick
© Online Edition Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre and Bureau of Meteorology 2001 Published by Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, using the Web Academic Resource Publisher http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/fam/1090.html |