Effects of hail damage mitigation on grapevines crop in Mendoza, Argentina, by atmospheric weather modification with cloud seeding

CAVAGNARO M. A.; MARTÍN E.; ARANEO D. C.; INSEGNA L.; CARBONARI J.

Helsinki

Conferencia; 7th European Conference on Severe Storms; 2013

European Severe Storms Laboratory

Mendoza is the province with the most severe storm hail events in Argentina every summer, giving rise to several prevention systems tested over the last sixty years. The assessment of hail damage is here statistically compared between years during which any system was applied, versus control seasons with active fighting. We use available information from radar, hail pad network, weather station network and field survey data, from the Dirección de Agricultura y Contingencias Climáticas of Mendoza, Argentina, including an historical grape production area data base obtained from the Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura. We discuss the impact of hail damage mitigation in vinegrape crop using active defense by aircraft seeding during the period 1998 - 2012, evaluating the effects of application of atmospheric weather modification by silver iodide and comparing the results with the period 1994-1998, this last  without active defense.