LAB TESTS SHOW SALT-SEEDING COULD FREE AIRPORTS OF FOG

CORNELL AERONAUTICAL LABORATORY IS HAVING SOME SUCCESS WITH SEEDING CLOUDS WITH ORDINARY TABLE SALT TO DISBURSE FOG. THE METHOD IS BASED ON CONDENSING THE MOISTURE DROPLETS IN THE FOG BY DROPPING SALT CRYSTALS TO COLLECT THE DROPLETS INTO LARGE ENOUGH DROPS SO THAT VISIBILITY IS IMPROVED. A LIGHT AIRCRAFT COULD BE SENT ALOFT AS SOON AS THE FOG BECAME THICK ENOUGH TO IMPAIR A PILOT'S VISION SIGNIFICANTLY. THE PLANE WOULD CARRY CONTAINERS OF SODIUM CHLORIDE OF THE PRECISE GRAIN SIZE NEEDED. THE CHEMICAL WOULD BE RELEASED OVER THE RUNWAY APPROACHES TO DRIFT DOWN THROUGH THE FOG. SINCE THE SALT IS HIGHLY HYGROSCOPIC, IT WOULD ATTRACT THE MINUTE DROPLETS OF WATER AS IT FELL TO THE GROUND. THE AIR OVER THE RUNWAY WOULD THEN CONSIST OF DROPS OF WATER. THIS SOLUTION IS RESTRICTED TO THE PROBLEM OF WARM FOG ONLY.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 39, No 5, P 29, 4 PHO
• Publication Date: 1968-2

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Product Engineering
  • Publisher: McGraw-Hill, Incorporated

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airports; Fog dispersal; Hygroscopic coefficient; Laboratory tests; Salts
• Old TRIS Terms: Cloud seeding
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00225198
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 1 1994 12:00AM