UAEREP’s First Cycle Awardees Present Outstanding Final Project Results At the 3rd IREF

The UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science’s 3rd International Rain Enhancement Forum (IREF) today featured the final project results of its 1^st Cycle awardees at the 2019 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW).

In the presence of a distinguished audience of VIP dignitaries, diplomats, stakeholders and scientists, Dr Linda Zou, Professor Volker Wulfmeyer, Professor Masataka Murakami, presented the final results of innovative research advancing rain enhancement science in the UAE and beyond.

The three awardees that presented the successful outcomes of original research projects completed within a 3-year time scale are:

• Professor Linda Zou, a Professor at the Khalifa Institute of Science and Technology, has fabricated, tested and validated novel nanotechnology-based cloud seeding materials that can increase rain droplet dimensions by up to 3 times their original size, at 100% relative humidity, compared to conventional cloud seeding materials. Two patents have been filed for this unique material, and an examination of potential methods for mass production is currently ongoing.

• Professor Masataka Murakami, Designated Professor from the Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University and a visiting scientist at the Japan Meteorological Research Institute (MRI), has developed new statistical evaluation methods to study long-term effects of seeding and investigate improvements in seeding effects, and developed a numerical simulation model for forecasting and identifying suitable clouds for seeding.

• Professor Volker Wulfmeyer, Managing Director and Chair of Physics and Meteorology at the Institute of Physics and Meteorology of the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, developed a high-resolution 3D numerical weather prediction model to identify optimal locations of land cover and terrain modifications to increase rainfall. As well as determining plantation specifications and net water gain, another expected project outcome is carbon mitigation, thus helping the UAE achieve the climate objectives and CO2 reduction requirements of the Paris Agreement

Alya Al Mazroui, Director of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, commented: “The excellent results achieved by our 1^st Cycle awardees demonstrates our Program’s leadership in rain enhancement innovation using the most advanced science and technology. Advances in this field are offering increasingly viable and technically feasible methods of replenishing and boosting water supplies. Together, the Program’s awardees are already unlocking new solutions applicable to arid regions and beyond.”