586 
ene balloons are, in my opinion, ideal platforms 
for carrying on very important observations 
from altitudes of 50,000 to 100,000 ft. Capable 
of carrying a payload of 2000 lb and remaining 
aloft for more than 100 hr assures that the bal- 
loons can be used to track a front continuously 
across the United States. Radar, television, nu- 
clei count, and air samples, as well as the usual 
cloud-physics parameters, can be obtained 
throughout the life history of a frontal condition. 
Observations aloft coordinated with lower-alti- 
tude aircraft observations and a ground net- 
work of weather stations might give some very 
important clues into the atmospheric processes. 
Future research projects should include con- 
stant-level balloons for atmospheric research. 
The cost of these balloons would be much less 
than experimental aircraft and they offer a plat- 
form to obtain continuous observations at high 
altitudes for periods of a week or ten days. It 
would be feasible to use them for global oceanic 
observation platforms. Present electronic capa- 
bilities would permit the use of unmanned bal- 
loons in many areas but eventually all balloon 
observation stations should be manned with at 
least two observers. 
Future research programs—Future research 
programs in weather modification should plan 
for and provide the following: 
(1) An exhaustive cloud-physies program on 
a continuous basis for a period of five to ten 
years. The program should be developed by 
competent scientists so that projects are well de- 
signed and carefully controlled to yield maxi- 
mum amount of experimental data. 
(2) Projects should be established in at least 
nine areas of the United States: Florida and 
Gulf Coast, New England, Iowa and South Da- 
kota (flat lands), Utah and Colorado; Califor- 
nia and Washington. The location is based pri- 
marily on orographic and climatic features to 
provide maximum opportunity for observing all 
DISCUSSION 
unmanned constant-level balloons should provide 
observations on a coordinated basis to supple- 
ment ground observations. 
(4) Additional mountain observations should 
be established to furnish most representative 
surface observations. High-speed cameras will 
find increasing use in observing change of state 
in the laboratory, and eventually their use in 
field experiments will become an essential part 
of any future research program. 
(5) Radar of the latest type designed specifi- 
cally for cloud-physics observations should be 
available to each of the research projects. Color 
radar, magnetic-memory systems, and closed- 
circuit television should be provided when the 
science of the art can provide such ultra modern 
equipment. 
Funds to implement the entire program out- 
lined should not exceed 30 million dollars an- 
nually after the initial facilities have been estab- 
lished. 
REFERENCES 
AcKERMAN, Epwarp A., Resources for the Future, 
Inc. Forum, January 22, 1959. 
Apyisory ComMirtEe oN WeraATHER Controt, Final 
Report, vols. I and II, Superintendent of Docu- 
ments, Government Printing Office, December 
31, 1957. 
American Merrorouocicat Society, Public Law 510, 
Bul. Amer. Met. Soc., November, 1958. 
Barran, Louis, aND R. Kassanper, Artificial nuclea- 
tion of orographic Cumuli, Institute of Atmos- 
pheric Physics, University of Arizona, June, 1959. 
Commirten oN Merteorotocy, Preliminary Plans for 
a National Institute for Atmospheric Research, 
National Academy of Sciences, January, 1958. 
CunnincHam, R. M., ann D. Attas, Growth of 
hydrometeors as calculated from aircraft and ra- 
dar observations, Proc. Toronto Met. Conf., Sept. 
9-15, pub. 1954. 
Hovuauton, Henry G., Cloud physics, Science, 129, 
Feb. 6, 1959. 
Lanamuir, I., V. SCHAEFER, AND OTHERS, Project 
Cirrus, General Electric Research Lab., Schenec- 
tady, N. Y., March, 1953. 
Smupson, Gentry, AND oTHERS, [st National Hurri- 
types of weather situations. cane Conference, Miami, Florida, November 
(3) Instrumented aircraft and manned and 1958. 
Discussion 
Dr. Bernard Vonnegut—I agree with you that 
high-altitude balloons are a very useful tool for 
meteorological study. One application of bal- 
loons that should be of value in cloud physics 
is their use for obtaining time-lapse pictures of 
cloud development as viewed from above. These 
observations can be carried out with fairly small 
balloons as the cameras weigh only 10 or 20 Ib. 
It is much more instructive to look down on 
clouds and see how they grow and move than to 
look up at an uninformative cloud base. 
Dr. Helmut Weickmann—It is a very good 
