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Key cloud-seeding project kicks-off in Abu Dhabi

This project aligns with UAEREP’s mission to foster capacity building and knowledge exchange within the rain enhancement science research community

by Gulf Business

March 22, 2024

Cloud seeding in the UAE AL AIN, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JANUARY 31: Ground engineers restocking one of the UAE's National Center of Meteorology cloud-seeding planes with new Hygroscopic salt flares on January 31, 2024 in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique that employs chemicals to stimulate the formation of ice crystals or raindrops within clouds. Although cloud seeding has been in use since 1947, its significance has grown, particularly for arid regions like the UAE. The country, with its own National Center of Meteorology and Seismology deploying planes for cloud seeding, has invested in the technology as an immediate solution to address challenges related to water scarcity. (Photo by Andrea DiCenzo/Getty Images)

Image: Getty Images

The UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP) has kicked off a key project focused on developing methods to diagnose cloud seedability in near real time.

UAEREP – a research initiative launched by the UAE Presidential Court and overseen by the National Center of Meteorology (NCM) – is working with Professor Daniel Rosenfeld and his team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on the project.

The project kick-off meeting was held recently at the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, one of the collaborating research institutions.

Professor Rosenfeld’s team is the recipient of a grant from UAEREP’s 5th cycle. The project named ‘Identification of Clouds’ Microphysical Seedability in an Actionable Manner’, will use spatial resolution data of convective cloud clusters and operational satellite and meteorological data to aid the process. Concurrent assessment and guidance during cloud-seeding flights, complementing previous UAEREP research initiatives, will also be carried out.

The project team includes researchers from Wuhan University, the University of California San Diego and WeatherItIs.

The meeting was held to discuss research methodology, project objectives and timeline, the NCM’s role in the evaluation, and technical support and requirements for the project, including machine learning procedures.

The UAEREP team and the awarded research team at MBZUAI — The UAEREP team with Professor Rosenfeld and his colleagues at MBZUAI Image: Supplied

Cloud-seeding project key to rain enhancement science

The project is expected to make significant contributions to the science of rain enhancement. Alya Al Mazroui, director of UAEREP, highlighted the body’s commitment to global water security challenges through responsible innovation and international collaboration.

It aligns with UAEREP‘s mission to foster capacity building and knowledge exchange within the rain enhancement science research community.

Professor Rosenfeld expressed his team’s excitement to be part of this collaborative cloud-seeding initiative. “Through our project, we aim to develop actionable methods for identifying cloud seedability for real-time analysis, revolutionising the way cloud seeding is performed and evaluated,” he added.

Dr Salman Khan, associate professor of Computer Vision at MBZUAI, added that the project would bridge the gap between artificial intelligence and weather modification techniques.