Weather Control (Rain On Demand) in Abu Dhabi?

UK Daily Mail ^ | 1/3/2011 | na

[Yak]

For centuries people living in the Middle East have dreamed of turning the sandy desert into land fit for growing crops with fresh water on tap. Now that holy grail is a step closer after scientists employed by the ruler of Abu Dhabi claim to have generated a series of downpours. Fifty rainstorms were created last year in the state's eastern Al Ain region using technology designed to control the weather.

[Yak]

This could be astounding if true. Very clever approach (again, if true).

[BuffaloJack]

And exactly whose water are they stealing?
If they make it rain in the desert, then it won’t rain somewhere else where it may be needed for someone elses agriculture.

[Sherman Logan]

Fairly obviously more rain in location A means less rain somewhere elsed.

[Venturer]

I don’t know the truth of this, but I do know if you screw around enough with Mother Nature, somebody is going to get bitten.

[bgill]

But, but what about the poor drowning desert animals and plants!

Ok, so we have X amount of water to go around, right? So, are they destroying another eco system?

[Tigen]

Awesome GLOBULL WARMING AND COOLING AND RAIN AND SNOW ON DEMAND bitchen man cool S/

[DManA]

I’m sure there’ll be no unintended consequences from this.

[Yak]

I'm not a weather expert but I'm not so sure . . . according to the article: Over four summer months the emitters were switched on when the required atmospheric level of humidity reached 30 per cent or more.

If this device is just condensing the local ambient humidity present near this (or any?) ocean coast, would it only come at the low cost of just making the local air less humid just for a short while, until the humidity is soon replaced the the neighboring ocean again? If the source is the neighboring ocean would it really be "stealing" somebody else's rain, in this case?

In either case, I bet those huge ionizers would create one heckuva a lightning show.

[lacrew]

Per the article, there has to be at least 30% humidity for it to work. I think it will be limited to coastal areas, where there is a chance of getting that much moisture....so I don’t think its really ‘stealing’ somebody else’s rainfall.

I am skeptical that it could ever reach a useable scale, though. The article didn’t mention how much rain, or how large the clouds were...but I bet they were pretty small, when one considers the needs of agriculture.

Interesting...but workable?

[bgill]

If the source is the neighboring ocean would it really be "stealing" somebody else's rain, in this case?

Ok, then, poor fishies are being deprived of their water!!!

So, what happens with the salt? If they're stealing water from the ocean, then at some point that should compensate for the melting glaciers so we won't have to worry about world-wide floods in 2012.

[Yak]

Good point on the scale of this, LACrew, vs. the needs of agriculture.

However, even if it were limited to coastal areas, it could have a great impact if it were indeed scaleable. Think of rainfall in the several oceanside desert areas in the world . . . Somalia, Sudan & Ethopia come to mind. Perhaps Israel & the rest of the Mid-East, Western Australia, and Peru/Chile as well.

The African countries already have more than their share of challenges but this could concieveable help more land become farmable. Then people will fight wars over that newly fertile land . . . nevermind.

[statered]

Probably stealing rain that would have fallen in the ocean...

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

additional:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2650912/posts