Raining Forests Dummies' Guide

After hurricanes Katrina and Rita ripped through the the Gulf Coast, thousands of acres of mangrove forests were left bare. Scientist Mark Hodges believes he has devised a way to reforest these large areas of earth in a short amount of time.

In Raining Forests, Hodges will attempt to strategically drop tens of thousands of canisters filled with seedlings in an appropriate location. The task force will carry out a series of tests to determine which type of aircraft, delivery mechanism and canister design to use, as well as whether the seeds will be able to self-plant.

The Goal

The goal of aerial reforestation is to be able to reforest large, inaccessible areas of denuded forest from the air.  Mark Hodges, an environmental engineer, plans to design a universal delivery mechanism that can be fitted to helicopters throughout the world.  These will be able to distribute the specially designed canisters containing seeds or seedlings of any chosen local species.  He hopes that these systems can eventually be cheaply and simply fitted to aircraft in Third World countries, to aid reforestation projects around the globe.

Test 1: Falling Objects

The idea of this test is to look at the simple physics of how things fall out of an aircraft. Scientists will use a Skyvan skydiving plane with a tailgate that opens at the back. The "bombs" will be made from colored flour in biodegradable paper bags. In the drop zone, the team will have marked a grid pattern on the ground. The idea is to try two different methods of aerial release to see which gives the best distribution throughout the grid.

A simple delivery mechanism will be installed in the back of the Skyvan based on a cluster of tubes with a quick-release trapdoor on the front. When the plane is in the right place over the drop zone, Dr. Singer will pull the cord and release the bombs. Scientist Mark Hodges will measure the average distance between the flour bombs on the ground. 

The drop will be carried out four times: low and slow, low and fast, high and slow then high and fast. After each drop, Dr. Singer will take a digital photo of the results from the air to analyze later.

The test will be supervised by Bob Hallett, an aerial coordinator and the owner and pilot of the Skyvan. The scientists will also be responsible for all of the post-experiment cleanup.

Test 2: Canister Design

This test will determine which of the canister designs is likely to work best when dropped from the helicopter. This will be carried out on the ground using a pneumatic mortar, which will simulate drops from different heights. The mortar is a tripod about 10 feet high with a downward-facing air canister at the top. The tripod will be placed on a Louisiana mud flat with the canisters fired straight into the mud.

Previously, the team will have designed and manufactured a number of different prototype canisters. These will then be launched one by one from the mortar into the mud. A high-speed camera will be used to analyze how they penetrate the ground. From this, the team can determine the best canister design and what height they need to be dropped from.

Test 3: Canister Flight

Dr. Singer will test the aerodynamics of the chosen canister to make sure that it flies straight and lands the right way up. He will do a tandem skydive with a minicam attached to his body and jump from the plane with the canister. He will observe how it flies in freefall, and will modify the canister design as needed based on evidence gathered during the jumps.

Test 4: Delivery Mechanism

This is the first test of the delivery mechanism, which will be based on a modified "Bambi bucket" and attached underneath the helicopters. The Bambi bucket is designed to contain and release water, so the helicopter team and task force will experiment with different modifications to the bucket until they find a way to release the balls smoothly.

Final Experiment

Some 20,000 mangrove "propagules" (any plant material used for the purpose of plant propagation) and cord grass seedlings will be loaded into spherical canisters that are tied up in gauze and coated in wax.

The delivery mechanism is based on a modified "Bambi bucket," used to carry water while fighting fires from the air. The canisters will be loaded into the buckets and fitted into four helicopters. The helicopters will take off together from the base location in Port Fourchon and fly in formation to the New Cut Dune drop location. There will be a fifth helicopter that will have no delivery mechanism, but will act as a command vehicle.

Once the drop location is reached and the drop site identified, the helicopters will fly over one by one and distribute the seed canisters to cover the whole area. After they have dropped their loads, the helicopters will return to the base. After the helicopters have left, the team will return to the area on the ground and look at how the canisters have landed and distributed.

There will be small bomb shelter on an island in the middle of the drop location where Dr. Basil Singer and one camera operator will be stationed. They will monitor the results on the ground as the bombs hit, from the safety of their shelter.