This photo of a cloud-seeding aeroplane flying high above the Victorian Alps was taken to illustrate a story about "man-made rain". (Photo, 1988.)
Cloud seedingexperiments to modify clouds and induce rain began in Australia in 1947.
According to theCSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research,projectsincluded "seeding"cumulus clouds with silver iodide in acetone solution to confirm thehypothesis that:
Snowy Hydros cloud seeding program (which began in 2004)'used ground-based generators to introduce a seeding agent into suitable existing clouds'to encourage the formation of ice crystals and increase the amount offalling snow.
The energy provider permanently ceased its cloud seeding program in 2023 followinga review that foundescalating costs outweighedbenefits.
Bill McAuley's 40-plus-year news career began in 1969 as a cadet photographer at 'The Age' in Melbourne.
He has several publishedcollections, including 'Portraits of the Soul: A lifetime of images with Bill McAuley' and 'Last light on Victoria Dock, 1999'. To see more from Bill, clickhere.
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