Numerical means are used to compute storm surges (meteorological tides) in a standard basin of constant slope, bounded by a straightline coast. All storm tracks in this study are constrained to lie parallel to the coast; the storm can lie at any distance from the coast and travel with any speed, but once set, the distance and speed are invariant with time. Two driving forces, wind stress and atmospheric pressure gradient, are used to generate surges; they are derived from an analytic wind profile. The model storm is described with two invariant parameters, storm size and difference between ambient and central pressure of the storm.

The Hurricane Amelioration Research Project is a proposed experiment to be directed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) collaboratively with the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture and Hydrology. The primary goal of the experiment is to test the hypothesis that maximum surface winds in hurricanes can be reduced 10 to 15 percent or more by seeding the proper clouds in specified portions of the storms with freezing nuclei (silver iodide). SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute) prepared the bulk of this report during September 1977 under contract to NOAA. The report presents the results of an analysis of the environmental effects of performing the experiment in the eastern North Pacific off the west coast of Mexico. The analysis covers the environmental effects of dispensing silver iodide and of any resulting changes in the hurricanes; it does not cover environmental effects of the deployment and operation of project aircraft.