Weather Modification

The most promising field of weather modification may well be in the prevention of frost. Frost is such a devastating event for grape growers, citrus farmers, and other fields of agriculture that extensive efforts have been made to develop fog prevention systems. The two general principles that underlie most of these systems have been to increase the temperature of air near the ground, where frost forms, and to reduce the amount of heat lost at night, when frost formation usually occurs.

Some of the specific techniques used to accomplish these goals include heaters (to warm air), wind machines (to insure mixing of air), sprinkling systems (to provide water which will release heat when it freezes), and smudge pots (to release heat).