UAE mulls ‘man-made mountain’ in bid to improve rainfall

[M II A II R II K]

UAE mulls ‘man-made mountain’ in bid to improve rainfall


1 May 2016

By Yasmin Al Heialy

Read More: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/exclu...ll-630079.html

.....

Experts from the US-based University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), which manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) are in the “detailed modelling study” phase, NCAR scientist and lead researcher Roelof Bruintjes told Arabian Business.

- “What we are looking at is basically evaluating the effects on weather through the type of mountain, how high it should be and how the slopes should be,” said Bruintjes. “We will have a report of the first phase this summer as an initial step.” In collaboration with the National Center of Meteorology & Seismology (NCMS), the UCAR received a fund of $400,000 in February last year to propose a “detailed modelling study evaluating the effects of building a mountain on the weather”. The presence of mountains forces air to rise, creating clouds that can then be seeded, Bruintjes said.

- “Building a mountain is not a simple thing,” added Bruintjes. “We are still busy finalising assimilation, so we are doing a spread of all kinds of heights, widths and locations [as we simultaneously] look at the local climatology.” The specific location has not yet been determined as the NCAR experts are still testing out different sites across the UAE. --- “If [the project] is too expensive for [the government], logically the project won’t go through, but this gives them an idea of what kind of alternatives there are for the long-term future,” Bruintjes said. “If it goes through, the second phase would be to go to an engineering company and decide whether it is possible or not.”

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[10023]

Even if it was feasible, it shouldn't be allowed.

[GO_UAE]

Originally Posted by 10023

Even if it was feasible, it shouldn't be allowed.

Why not ?

[M II A II R II K]

I guess this would only work by an ocean. Especially since the desert states already have mountains.

[HomeInMyShoes]

It's not possible to drag the entire country to a more temperate location?

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by GO_UAE

Why not ?

Because they should be doing their own thing instead of trying to be Switzerland.

[brickell]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

I guess this would only work by an ocean. Especially since the desert states already have mountains.

As long as you have warm humid air rising it will work.
see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appala...ate_rainforest

To the bigger point, mountains, where there were none before, can have far reaching climate impacts elsewhere. Presumably they're modeling all that, but these things can backfire.

Also wouldn't you need a whole range of mountains? Otherwise the air just goes around it.

There's other ways
https://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savo...e?language=en#

[Wayward Memphian]

Originally Posted by mousquet

Because they should be doing their own thing instead of trying to be Switzerland.

I thought they were trying to be Orlando.

[texcolo]

We shouldn't make mountains out of mole hills.

[hammersklavier]

Rich Arab oil sheiks: We don't want to wait a few hundred million years for the Earth to make our mountains for us! We want them now!

Technical note: The Persian Gulf in particular is what's called a foreland basin, a type of depositional environment related to nearby mountain-building. Over time, the sediments in the foreland build up into a high plateau, which in turn dessicates into mountain ranges as the primary orogeny's relief weathers away. In other words, in ~200 million years, the Persian Gulf will look something like what the Allegheny Plateau, from the Catskills into West Virginia, look like today.

[MolsonExport]

Remember this (faux?) proposal for Tempelhof Airport, in Berlin?


more on the flight of fantasy here: http://www.the-berg.de/ and here http://scribol.com/art-and-design/ar...cial-mountain/

[aaron38]

We drove up into the rainforest on the west side of Maui, Hawaii. That mountain is 4000ft.

How are they planning to construct this mountain? Drill down till they hit magma and trigger a volcano?

[scalziand]

Originally Posted by aaron38

We drove up into the rainforest on the west side of Maui, Hawaii. That mountain is 4000ft.

How are they planning to construct this mountain? Drill down till they hit magma and trigger a volcano?

No, it would have to be an inflatable mountain out of plastic. Convenient because they can still use the land underneath it.


http://nextbigfuture.com/2016/05/the...-stage-of.html

[GO_UAE]

Originally Posted by mousquet

Because they should be doing their own thing instead of trying to be Switzerland.

This main purpose of this project is to increase rainfall and solve part of the water problems here. How is this in any way, trying to be like Switzerland ? or not doing their own thing ?

[10023]

Originally Posted by GO_UAE

Why not ?

Because much like cloud seeding, artificially causing rain in one location will reduce rainfall in another location.

[The North One]

Umm, how would a single mountain be enough to make a significant difference? Don't you need an entire mountain range?

[jbermingham123]

jesus the lengths people will go to avoid building desalination plants never ceases to astound me

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by 10023

Because much like cloud seeding, artificially causing rain in one location will reduce rainfall in another location.

And that's irrelevant if that other location is the ocean - which would be the case in over 66% of situations, as a general statistic.

(And it's also somewhat irrelevant if the lost rainfall would be in the open desert, because it would just be scattered onto sand and then re-evaporate.)

What you need is to compare the costs (and energy usage) of desalination to the cost and energy of this curtain contraption. I doubt it would be a mountain; it would just be a mega frame with lots of fabric. Maybe even with solar panels. Swaths of the land underneath could be a giant greenhouse or otherwise put to use as well.