His Excellency Mansoor Abulhoul, UAE Ambassador to the United Kingdom, visited the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom to explore the pioneering research project focusing on the electrical aspects of rain generation carried out by Professor Giles Harrison, Professor of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom and a second cycle awardee by the UAE Research Program for Rain EnhancementScience.
Ambassador Abulhoul was received by Robert Van de Noort, Vice Chancellor of University of Reading, Paul Inman, Pro-Vice-Chancellor International at University of Reading,and a team of leading scientists including Professor Martin Ambaum, and Professor Andrew Charlton-Perez.
Professor Ambaum and his colleagues briefed Ambassador Abulhoul on the cutting-edge research project being implemented and tested with the support of experts and specialists from the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science and several local and international research and academic organizations, including the University of Reading and the University of Bath in the United Kingdom.
Alya Al Mazroui, Director of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, said: “Ambassador Abulhoul’s visit to the University of Reading and his keen interest in learning more about one of the program’s pioneering projects signify the importance accorded by the UAE’s wise leadership and senior officials to the scientific and research endeavors undertaken by our scientists in a strategically important area like water security.”
Al Mazroui added: “The tremendous support provided by the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science to its awardees demonstrates our sustained efforts to foster cooperation with the scientists affiliated with the program across all stages of their research projects. This helps us ensure the alignment of their research work with the program’s key objective of tackling the most pressing water security challenges, especially in arid regions. Such efforts allow us to extend the scope of our collaboration with experts and research institutions across the globe to develop innovative technologies in rain enhancement domain.”
In last March, the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), as part of its support for Professor Giles Harrison’s innovative project, launched a research campaign to evaluate the effectiveness of charge emission in modifying the behavior of droplets in the UAE environment, and consequently enhancing the rainfall process.
The charge emission technology allows to use a small and lightweight platform to deliver charge into the clouds instead of traditional cloud seeding payloads which require much larger aircraft. This method does not involve the emission of any solid particles into clouds such as silver iodide or salt.
Since its inception in 2015, the program has made significant contribution towards the advancement of rain enhancement science through enabling innovative research works focused on the application of nanotechnology for developing novel cloud seeding materials, using unmanned aircraft for cloud seeding, and stimulating updrafts for convection formation, among others.