A Case Study on the Impact of Ground-based Glaciogenic Seeding on Winter Orographic Clouds at Daegwallyeong

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of ground-based glaciogenic seeding on orographic clouds in the Daegwallyeong area on 13 March, 2013. The experiments was conducted by releasing silver iodide (AgI) under following conditions: surface temperature below -4 degrees C, wind direction between 45 and 130 degrees, and wind speed less than 5 m s(-1). Two seeding rates, 38 g h(-1) (SR1) and 113 g h(-1) (SR2), were tested to obtain an appropriate AgI ratio for snowfall enhancement in the Daegwallyeong area. Numerical simulations were carried out by using the WRF (Weather Research and Forecast) model with AgI point-source module which predicted dispersion fields of AgI particles. The results indicated that the target orographic clouds contained adequate amount of supercooled liquid water and that the dispersion of AgI particles tended to move along the prevailing wind direction. To validate the seeding effects, the observation data from FM-120 and MPS as well as PARSIVEL disdrometer were analyzed. In this case study, glaciogenic seeding significantly increased the concentration of small ice particles below 1 mm in diameter. The observation results suggest that SR1 seeding be reasonable to use the ground-based seeding in the Daegwallyeong area.