APPLICATIONS OF SPATIAL ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES FOR ASSESSING THE CONTRIBUTION OF CLOUD SEEDING TO RAINFALL IN ISRAEL

The paper summarizes two decades of fitting existing techniques and developing new spatial methods in order to aid the cloud seeders in proving or disproving the value of deliberate rainfall augmentation in Israel. While the spatial regression and the distance correlation matrix (DISTCORMAT) techniques served to distinguish between deliberate rainfall enhancement and inadvertent urban climate modification, the composite correlation map revealed an increase of rainfall duration and an extension of the rainfall target area. Hydrological parameters were utilized to assess the effect of cloud seeding on water resources. Indirectly, the hydrological evidence supported the positive effect of the cloud seeding. Those findings also suggest that cloud seeding augments the rainfall intensity, but interpretation of the composite correlation map does not support this notion. [Key words: cloud seeding, spatial analysis techniques, DISTCORMAT technique, composite correlation map, multiple regression analysis, hydrological parameters, Israel.]