AquariusRadar
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Gulf of Mexico Operations	Improved weather moderation is available with the complete developement of the AquariusRadar hydrology concept. This idea is not extraordinary. Silver iodide crystals, cannon booming, and microwave energy are all attempts to influence cloud developement with external means to the benefit of mankind; weather moderation. Weather scientists and water managers should cease using the term "modification", as it implies and encompasses radical change to the weather, which is not possible. Alarmists and extremists have seized upon the term "modification" and frightened legislators into inaction for weather research. Weather moderation is the term to use. Many questions will arise and this page tries to answer some of those.
Hydrology Concept	What is AquariusRadar?..AquariusRadar is a radar with high power and pencil beam pattern resulting in high ERP that is dedicated to tempering excess rainfall via microwave heating from existing rain clouds in an area without a storage mechanism and later allowing that precipitation to fall into a nearby area with high storage capability. It is a water transport methodology. Aquariusradar (microwave heating of clouds) is the opposite of cloud seeding. Mankind cannot modify or change the weather; man can however moderate the rainfall to advantage. The same amount of rain falls, but in a pattern beneficial for storage and later use.	Aquarius is the constellation often called the "Water Bearer". When I look at the night sky, I can't find it either. A rain storm picture from NOAA/NWS gallery is used instead.
Cloud Seeding Augmentation	What are some examples of these storage capabilities?........Snowpack, reservoirs, forested land, and aquifier recharge zones are the best examples. But well maintained agricultural and open green spaces have good capability to soak up excess moisture as well.	How and when will we know when this technology is ready???..The technology is already in place..a testing program can be implemented using existing radars and test areas that have NexRad coverage. The testing would concentrate on capability and the economic viability.
Snowpack Enhancement	Is the AquariusRadar a rainmaking equipment?... No! AquariusRadar is not an attempt to make rain. In fact, the AquariusRadar operates only during a period of excessive, detrimental rainfall....AquariusRadar slows the precipatation rate... So could AquariusRadar stop flooding?.......No, not generally. Partial stormwater abatement in urban areas is about as close as it gets because AquariusRadar is local in nature and has limited power or energy as compared to the rain cloud systems that produce regional flooding. Even multiple AcquariusRadars operating in concert could not prevent the regional flooding that occurred in the Atlanta area in summer 2009.	Can't AcquariusRadar be of some help during a drought??...AcquariusRadar can't "make it rain".... the big advantage is the additional stored water made available by AcquariusRadar during the wet periods. In addition, even during drought, the infrequent showers in urban areas might be utilized for clean water storage gain. For example, the urban areas of the Los Angeles basin almost always would qualify, even during drought. See the storm water abatement page. Special operations for Southern California and the Gulf of Mexico also apply here.
Ideal Candidate Radars	Why can't the NEXRAD system of NWS weather radars do this?....NexRad by design is a wide area surviellance and reporting radar dedicated to weather monitoring. While a powerful and long range radar, NexRad's (WSR-88) energy is spread out over an area encompassing many thousands of times the space to which AquariusRadar dedicates it's energy. AquariusRadar operates upon individual storm cells by "tracking" and "staring" constantly on one cell at a time. This energy is beamed to the base of the storm cell and acts upon the formulation of the cell's growth. By acting near the base of clouds , the AcquariusRadar obtains "adiabatic leverage". A percentage of the moisture can be transported to the desirable storage area depending on the size of the rain cell and storm dynamics; when storm dynamics are weak, AquariusRadar has more leverage and when dynamics are strong the AquariusRadar has less leverage.	So AcquariusRadar can't transport much of the excess rainfall?? ...Typical values might be 15%..more on small rain cells..less on really large storms. But water managers realize 10% quality water stored is more valuable than 100% lost to flood or contamination. Multiple AcquariusRadars operating on a single rain cell would achieve a high percentage of water transport. Large metropolitan cities like Houston might have four or more AcquariusRadars for storm water abatement. What kind of coverage can one AquariusRadar obtain? ...A FPQ6 class radar could cover a radius of about 20 miles or about 40 linear miles.
Stormwater Abatement	What good is "staring" at individual storm cells?..What is adiabatic leverage?...The AquariusRadar high impulse microwave energy is readily absorbed by the super-saturated water molecules in the super-cooled storm cloud environment. The water molecule moves faster as a result of the energy absorbtion and is too vigorous to "lock-in" to the evolving snow-ice crystals.The latent heat of vaporization is preserved in the water vapor. The added energy reduces the relative super-saturation level of ice crystals over water droplets. This important step in the Bergeron process is inhibited and allows through this "adiabatic leverage", the movement of large volumes of water, i.e. the cloud, from the undesirable area to the desirable area of storage.	If microwave energy is used, why are expensive radars necessary?.. Could a microwave oven through a hi-gain dish antenna work just as well?...While the NexRad data is used to direct the the AcquariusRadar, the exacting focus of energy must be directed by the AcquariusRadar operator using the radar's own "echo" display. This requires high power microsecond pulsed energy for cloud penetration and good resolution. Later, costs can be reduced with a commercial version that eliminates expensive "precision" equipment".
Southern California Operations	Who will use the AquariusRadar?.. Primarily the managers of the various water districts within each state. Federal agency managers within the Interior Department such as the Army Corp of Engineers, the BLM, the National Fisheries and the National Forest can also employ AquariusRadar. The local city manager of stormwater control will be the most prolific user of the technology.	Some testing areas were mentioned ; where are these at?.. Two good sites would be Wallops Island, Va. and Patrick AFB, Fl. Both have existing radars as described on the ideal candidates page and NexRad coverage of extensive offshore-open water test zones.
Amelia Earhart Mystery	Is AquariusRadar a radar company? Is "AquariusRadar a trademark? ...No..the AquariusRadar name is from the constellation Aquarius the "water bearer" and best describes the microwave heating impact upon rain cells and beneficial water transport.	So when will testing start?....As soon as a qualified entity elects to study the concept and determines it qualifies for some research grant expenditures. A page outling a hypothetical test for the west coast is available from the Southern California Operations page.
	Is AquariusRadar a "robbing Peter to pay Paul" type system?	Yes, but only in the sense that Peter is up to his boot tops with water and Paul is really thristy. The cost effectivness of AquariusRadar water transport, measured in dollars per acre foot, is better than any existing method now employed.