Atmospheric water resources utilization: Technology, applications, and ecological economic benefits

Authors

Min CHEN, State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection and High-quality Development of the Upstream of Yellow River, Ministry of Water Resources, Xining 810016, ChinaFollow
Tiejian LI, State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Yuefei HUANG, State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; School of Civil Engineering and Water Resources, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China; Key Laboratory of Water Ecology Remediation and Protection at Headwater Regions of Big Rivers, Ministry of Water Resources, Xining 810016, China; Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection and High-quality Development of the Upstream of Yellow River, Ministry of Water Resources, Xining 810016, ChinaFollow
Guoxin CHEN, School of Civil Engineering and Water Resources, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China; Key Laboratory of Water Ecology Remediation and Protection at Headwater Regions of Big Rivers, Ministry of Water Resources, Xining 810016, China

Keywords

atmospheric water resources utilization；low-frequency and intense acoustic rain enhancement technology；Hainan PrefectureQinghai Province

Document Type

Review and Outlook on Concept "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains Are Invaluable Assets" at Its 20th Anniversary: Scientific Connotation, Strategic Value, and Case Study-Case Study

Abstract

Water resources are important elements for maintaining ecological balance and ensuring biodiversity, which are also the basic resources for the development of agriculture, industry, and services. It is of great significance to alleviate the shortage of water resources and reduce drought losses in western China by using low-frequency and intense sonic rain enhancement technology to actively utilize abundant atmospheric water resources and increase regional precipitation. This study introduces the principle of low-frequency and intense sonic rain enhancement technology using acoustic cloud water resources, and analyzes its rain enhancement effect and ecological and economic benefits by taking the acoustic rain enhancement experiment in Hainan Prefecture of Qinghai Province as an example. The results show that the low-frequency and intense acoustic precipitation enhancement technology has obvious precipitation enhancement effect, which can effectively increase precipitation, and the cost is relatively low, the ecological benefit is significant, and it has promising application prospect. The suitable deployment area for the use of low-frequency and strong sound wave rain enhancement and acoustic water resources in China is further screened, with an area of about 5.795 million square kilometers and only 58,000 pieces of equipment in theory. Based on precipitation data from 2000 to 2022 and existing experimental parameters, it is estimated that the annual rainfall increase can reach 858.57 billion m3 and an effective water storage will be 85.86 billion to 171.72 billion m3 under the maximum theoretical deployment scenario. If 14,000 pieces of rainfall enhancement equipment are prioritized in concentrated contiguous irrigation areas, agricultural irrigation water can be increased by 66.42 billion m3 per year, and irrigation water can be increased by 81.15 billion m3 per year under the maximum theoretical deployment scenario, saving irrigation costs by 40.58 billion yuan. The increase in net carbon sink is expected to reach 819 million tons of CO2 equivalent, and the maximum annual economic benefit of carbon sink can reach 41 billion to 81.9 billion yuan. In the future, with the further development of technology and the improvement of the monitoring and evaluation system, the large-scale promotion and application of low-frequency and intense sound wave rain enhancement can provide support for the sustainable management and utilization of water resources, ecological restoration and the realization of carbon neutrality goals in China.

First page

1317

Last Page

1328

Language

Chinese

Publisher

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Recommended Citation

CHEN, Min; LI, Tiejian; HUANG, Yuefei; and CHEN, Guoxin (2024) "Atmospheric water resources utilization: Technology, applications, and ecological economic benefits," Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version): Vol. 40 : Iss. 7 , Article 17.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3724/j.issn.1000-3045.20250613004
Available at: https://bulletinofcas.researchcommons.org/journal/vol40/iss7/17