The Queensland cloud seeding research program

In late 2006 the Queensland government decided to establish the Queensland Cloud Seeding Research Program (QCSRP) in southeastern Queensland to determine the feasibility of cloud seeding as a component of its long-term water management strategy. The Queensland water management strategy recognizes the need for a broad portfolio of water sources to account for the uncertainties and costs associated with each type of source. While it was not expected that cloud seeding would restore southeastern Queensland's water supply levels to pre-drought values, it seemed valuable to determine whether certain types of seeding techniques might impact rainfall and water supplies in the region and whether that impact could be quantified. The project was developed as a collaboration between a number of institutions from Australia, the United States, and South Africa, and included field measurements over the course of two wet seasons. A two-pronged approach was taken to a) conduct a randomized cloud seeding experiment and b) assemble state-of-the-art instrumentation systems to collect data on the complete physical process from cloud formation to seeding to precipitation