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I always wondered, if there is a way to geoengineer clouds to refill those aquifiers. Find out the main windband going there, go over the ocean, create a artifi

I always wondered, if there is a way to geoengineer clouds to refill those aquifiers. Find out the main windband going there, go over the ocean, create a artifical thermic (via solar) and produce lots of moisture (ultrasonic foggers driven by solar?), creating rainclouds in a synethetic way.

swebs 6y ago
I don't know why this comment is dead. It's an interesting idea.
dyadic 6y ago
Cloud seeding exists already. It works by distributing particles (I forget what of) in the air that water can coalesce around into clouds and then raindrops. There are ethical and geo/political consequences though, since doing it is effectively stealing rain from another area.
adrianN 6y ago
I'd guess that it's more efficient to desalinate water and distribute it via pipelines than to go the extra step of getting it up to cloud height and then letting it fall down again.
- symplee 6y ago
  Exactly. I wonder how feasible it would be to repurpose oil pipelines and send desalinated water back inland.
  - netjiro 6y ago
    It's all feasible, if you have cheap enough energy. The installations themselves are not that expensive. The energy required is very expensive. And unless it's 100% 0-Carbon it will only exacerbate the situation.
flooddthvalley 6y ago
Ultrasonic foggers would also increase the amount of salt in the air, so you’d have to run them far out in the sea. Instead, flood Death Valley with ocean water: 1. Massive evaporative potential. 2. Moisture trapped by tall mountains replenishing the aquifer and making lush surroundings. 3. Massive hydro potential 4. Displaced species not seriously harmed since the moisture gradient would be large (are P. 2) 5. You could harvest the salt prolonging the suitability of the project (anyway measured in centuries if not millennia) Basically you’d have the lushness of the surroundings of Salt Lake City (compared to the desert anyway). Except there would be a lot more moisture (lower salinity wrt it Salt Lake, moisture better trapped) You could do the same thing in Egypt at the Qatara depression, except with potentially global benefits. Here the half of the Sahara could be turned into productive farm land.
- lexpar 6y ago
  I like this idea. I don't know if I would say I'm 'hoping' for this, but I'm certainly interested to see what kind of incredible projects will come out of the increased necessity brought on by climate change. It seems like for a long time there's been resistance to really try to do 'big' things in NA. We hardly even build subways since the 60's -- too complicated, too expensive, too disruptive, too big! Maybe we'll increase our ambitions as a society when we're less comfortable.
  - flooddthvalley 6y ago
    If you like projects check these out: 1. You can drain the mediterranean. It’s simple, really. Plug the straight of Gibraltar up, put a lock system for continued shipping, and, slowly, the sea will evaporate away. That’s insane! 2. You can drain/flood the attic sea by damning the Bearing strait. While the sea wouldn’t be sealed up, the Giuk gap isn’t big enough to stop significant changes in water levels! It’s actually kinda fun to look at a map and find what massive bodies of water are within our ability to drain
- thehappypm 6y ago
  Sigh. Let's destroy a vast ecosystem and fundamentally change the atmosphere of a hugely important agricultural region. Let's not solve one problem by creating 10.

swebs 6y ago

I don't know why this comment is dead. It's an interesting idea.

dyadic 6y ago

Cloud seeding exists already. It works by distributing particles (I forget what of) in the air that water can coalesce around into clouds and then raindrops. There are ethical and geo/political consequences though, since doing it is effectively stealing rain from another area.

adrianN 6y ago

I'd guess that it's more efficient to desalinate water and distribute it via pipelines than to go the extra step of getting it up to cloud height and then letting it fall down again.

symplee 6y ago
Exactly. I wonder how feasible it would be to repurpose oil pipelines and send desalinated water back inland.
- netjiro 6y ago
  It's all feasible, if you have cheap enough energy. The installations themselves are not that expensive. The energy required is very expensive. And unless it's 100% 0-Carbon it will only exacerbate the situation.

flooddthvalley 6y ago

Ultrasonic foggers would also increase the amount of salt in the air, so you’d have to run them far out in the sea. Instead, flood Death Valley with ocean water: 1. Massive evaporative potential. 2. Moisture trapped by tall mountains replenishing the aquifer and making lush surroundings. 3. Massive hydro potential 4. Displaced species not seriously harmed since the moisture gradient would be large (are P. 2) 5. You could harvest the salt prolonging the suitability of the project (anyway measured in centuries if not millennia) Basically you’d have the lushness of the surroundings of Salt Lake City (compared to the desert anyway). Except there would be a lot more moisture (lower salinity wrt it Salt Lake, moisture better trapped) You could do the same thing in Egypt at the Qatara depression, except with potentially global benefits. Here the half of the Sahara could be turned into productive farm land.

lexpar 6y ago
I like this idea. I don't know if I would say I'm 'hoping' for this, but I'm certainly interested to see what kind of incredible projects will come out of the increased necessity brought on by climate change. It seems like for a long time there's been resistance to really try to do 'big' things in NA. We hardly even build subways since the 60's -- too complicated, too expensive, too disruptive, too big! Maybe we'll increase our ambitions as a society when we're less comfortable.
- flooddthvalley 6y ago
  If you like projects check these out: 1. You can drain the mediterranean. It’s simple, really. Plug the straight of Gibraltar up, put a lock system for continued shipping, and, slowly, the sea will evaporate away. That’s insane! 2. You can drain/flood the attic sea by damning the Bearing strait. While the sea wouldn’t be sealed up, the Giuk gap isn’t big enough to stop significant changes in water levels! It’s actually kinda fun to look at a map and find what massive bodies of water are within our ability to drain
thehappypm 6y ago
Sigh. Let's destroy a vast ecosystem and fundamentally change the atmosphere of a hugely important agricultural region. Let's not solve one problem by creating 10.