National Geographic features Armin Sorooshian
Flood waters flowing over a Central Texas road during the early July flooding.
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Armin Sorooshian, CHEE professor and University Distinguished Scholar, was quoted in a recent National Geographic article about so-called weather modification technology and whether these methods could have influenced disastrous flooding in Central Texas in early July.
Questions about whether cloud seeding, the addition of silver iodide or salt crystals to clouds to enhance precipitation, could drive flooding arose online immediately after the floods. Cloud seeding cannot create or increase moisture in clouds and research shows it is not effective on large-scale storm systems like those behind the Texas flooding.
“Picture a lemon. What we’re doing is really just trying to squeeze a few more drops out,” Sorooshian told National Geographic.