©Fact-magazine
Brilio.net/en - Located in one of the most arid part of the planet, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a country famous worldwide for undertaking the most unbelievable construction projects: the highest tower in the world, Burj Khalifa in Dubai or the 100% artificial island of Palm Jumeirah are some of the most representative examples. The next project the country has in mind is beyond ambitious, incredibly crazy, and a true scientific challenge: to make it rain in the desert.
Water is becoming a big issue for the country where it only rains a few days per year on average. The increasing population in the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi have logically raise the need for water supply, especially since UAE are the biggest consumers of water on Earth. Among the techniques that are being evaluated to increase the water in the country, the cloud seeding seemed the best way but wont be enough.
The mountain project is thus currently being studied by the researchers of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the United States for a few months already. The idea would be to create an artificial mountain, which could increase the maximum the rate of rain in the region. In fact, mountains are directly related to the rain: when the air reaches the top of it, the water decreases in temperature and the air condensation becomes liquid, thereby falling back to the ground as rain.
"We are currently evaluating the impact that this type of mountain can have on the weather, how high it should be and how should its relief be. [] We will be able to provide a first response to these issues in the next couple of months." explained a scientist from the NCAR.
The cost of the project? Over 200.000 billion dollars, which actually is a trifling sum compared to the disastrous environmental costs that the project is going to cause if it is ever concretely set up.
(brl/red)
