• Atmosphere
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.35-53
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• 2024

Under the leadership of the National Institute of Meteorological Sciences (NIMS), the first domestic autonomous flight-type weather modification experimental drone for fog and lower-level cloud seeding was developed in 2021. This drone is designed based on a multi-copter configuration with a maximum takeoff weight of approximately 25 kg, enabling the installation of up to four burning flares for seeding materials and facilitating weather observations (temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind) as well as aerosol (PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and PM_1.0) particle measurements. This research aims to introduce the construction of the drone and its recent applications over the past two years, providing insights into the experimental procedures, effectiveness verification, and improvement directions of the weather modification drone-based rain enhancement. In particular, partial confirmation of the experimental effects was obtained through the fog dissipation experiment on December 10, 2021, and the lower-level cloud seeding case study on October 5, 2022. To enhance the scope and rainfall amount of weather modification experiments using drones, various technological approaches, including adjustments to experimental altitude, seeding lines, seeding amount, and verification methods are necessary. Through this research, we aim to propose the development direction for weather modification drone technology, which will serve as foundational technology for practical application of domestic rain enhancement technology.