Results from Rainmaker's Alaska Research Campaign
Earlier this year, Rainmaker became the first private company in history to unambiguously prove we could modify the weather and generate rain, snow, and freshwater at scale via glaciogenic cloud seeding.
We produced over 145 million verified gallons of precipitation – nearly 1800 annual American households’ water demand – over the course of a four month period.
This summer, Rainmaker launched a research and development campaign in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula to further develop our flight platform, weather targeting capabilities, and validation techniques.
Today, we’re excited to share some initial results from our research: Over the course of 12 drone flights on August 23, Rainmaker generated a mean of 57 acre-feet of rain (IQR: 45–65 acre-feet), distinct from natural precipitation.
That’s approximately 19 million gallons of water generated in a three hour period.
The continued iteration and improvement of Rainmaker's cloud seeding capabilities will allow us to more effectively bring new water to regions suffering from drought, like the Great Salt Lake and Colorado River basin.
GLACIOGENIC CLOUD SEEDING
Cloud seeding is an American technology that aims to increase precipitation from existing clouds. The most common type of cloud seeding is glaciogenic cloud seeding, which targets cold conditions, usually below –°C. (“Glaciogenic” here means “ice-creating”.)
Glaciogenic cloud seeding works by introducing ice-attracting particles into subfreezing clouds, triggering the formation of ice crystals that precipitate as snow or rain. Silver iodide (AgI) is the most commonly used seeding material.
RAINMAKER’S DRONE-BASED PLATFORM
Rainmaker integrates established cloud seeding methods with modern advancements in drone and sensor technologies. Our approach is built on three pillars: (1) targeting optimal conditions, (2) seeding with precision, and (3) validation of results.
These capabilities are supported by two proprietary products:
- Elijah — The world’s first sub-55 lb. UAV capable of autonomous and sustained high-altitude flight through severe icing conditions. Onboard sensors collect and deliver high-fidelity atmospheric data.
- Stratus — An advanced software platform that forecasts viable seeding opportunities, monitors live mission progress, estimates precipitation yield, and validates the results of seeding operations. Stratus integrates both radar and satellite data for validation.
RESULTS FROM THE KENAI PENINSULA
Rainmaker has operated in the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska since June. The region was chosen for a high incidence of summertime seeding conditions along the Chugach and Kenai coastal ranges, enabling Rainmaker to conduct flight testing and validation research.
On August 23, Rainmaker made 12 seeding flights between 6:30am and 9:23am, igniting AgI flares into clouds between 3,500 and 4,200 meters MSL. Using methodology established by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the 2017 SNOWIE campaign (Tessendorf, 2019; Friedrich, 2020), Rainmaker calculates that this three-hour operational window produced about 57 acre-feet of rain, distinct from natural precipitation.
WHY IT MATTERS
Cloud seeding operators have historically struggled to validate, or prove, the impact of their operations. This year, Rainmaker became the first private company to clear this hurdle, producing validated results from operations in Utah, Idaho, and Oregon. Our customers and partners no longer have to wonder whether our technology works—nor whether it can help to solve the looming drought crisis in the American West.
Over the next several months, we will continue to release material on our research, methodologies, and technological advancements in the field of weather modification.