Debunked: Strontium as Footprint of Geoengineering Proposals or Patents [There is none]

[Mick West]

Promoters of the "chemtrails" theory often rattle off a list of three elements, Aluminum, Barium, and Strontium. They claim that these are a "footprint" of geoengineering, supposedly being the exact three elements that geoengineering researchers have suggested using to block the sun, and also being the elements found in geoengineering patents. They test the soil, the water, the air, the rain, and they find varying amounts of these chemicals, and claim that this is evidence of a covert geoengineering scheme carried out with "chemtrails".

There are a number of problems with this theory. The biggest being that the amounts found are pretty much within the normal range of variation you'd find everywhere. Aluminum in particular makes up about 8% of the dirt and dust everywhere, and the other elements are also commonly found in the ground, and hence in the air, rain, and water in the form of mineral dust.

Secondly, even if the levels were elevated, how is this connected with what's going on 35,000 feet? The source of the pollution (which has never actually been demonstrated to be elevated anyway) could be local sources, or even something blowing in on the wind from thousands of miles away. California gets dust and pollution from China, the East Coast gets it from Europe and Africa.

The promoters then bring out what they think of as a trump card - the "footprint" of Aluminum, Barium, and Strontium. Why, they ask, are they finding the exact same three elements that are in all these geoengineering proposals and patents? For example:

http://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/...limate-chaos-and-environmental-catastrophe-2/
[bunk]Countless lab tests of precipitation from around the globe (cited above) have been done by concerned individuals and groups in recent years, and the results are shocking to say the least. Our rain and snow is quite literally packed with the very same highly toxic heavy metals named in numerous geoengineering patents as primary elements. The air we breath is also laden with the same toxins aluminum/alumina, barium, strontium, manganese, thorium, and now even fluoride[/bunk]

Well, for a start it's because they only test for those three elements. If they tested for other elements commonly found in the ground, like silicon, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, etc, they wold find them all too. And they would find them in much higher concentrations (on average) than they would find either barium or strontium. The footprint they are finding is that of dirt, but they only test a bit of that footprint, so they think it's their geoengineering footprint. It's like finding someone with blue eyes and white teeth and saying he's Justin Beiber.

These problems alone are enough to dismiss the theory of the Aluminum/Barium/Strontium signature, but there's one more problem with it that basically makes it entirely worthless, even if we overlook all the other problems. The problem is there is no footprint.

There's no footprint because there are no geoengineering proposals or patents that suggest spraying strontium.

There's very few that suggest spraying barium either. There are a few that suggest using aluminum, there's even one by David Keith that suggest using aluminum and barium together - but that uses rather impractical microscopic levitating disks that would be easily detectable with a microscope. Most geoengineering proposals that call for spraying something call for spraying sulphates. None of them call for strontium. So the claim on geoengineeringwatch that barium and strontium are "named in numerous geoengineering patents as primary elements" is just flat wrong.

Don't believe me? Check for yourself. Search the literature for "geoengineering" and "strontium". The only things that come up are conspiracy theory web sites. And check the patents they reference, the most common being what they call the "Welsbach" patent:
http://www.google.com/patents/US5003186

The method includes the step of seeding the layer of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere with particles of materials characterized by wavelength-dependent emissivity. Such materials include Welsbach materials and the oxides of metals which have high emissivity (and thus low reflectivities) in the visible and 8-12 micron infrared wavelength regions.
...
A desired material for the stratospheric seeding has a reflection coefficient close to unity for near IR radiation, and a reflection coefficient close to zero (or emissity close to unity) for far IR radiation. FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating an ideal emissivity versus wavelength function for the desired material. Another class of materials having the desired property includes the oxides of metals. For example, aluminum oxide (Al2 O3) is one metal oxide suitable for the purpose and which is relatively inexpensive.

This patent does not mention either barium or strontium.

Try a search of Google Scholar for "geoengineering+strontium", there are many results, including some for conspiracy sites, or forums like this one, but none of the results are a serious discussion of spraying anything that contains strontium. Search instead for "geoengineering+sulfates", and you will find hundreds of scientific papers about spraying sulfates.

You can repeat these searches in Citeseer, or Google Books, or any other search engine or reference database. The only places that talks about spraying strontium are the conspiracy sites (and books). There are no scientific papers about spraying strontium, there are no patents about spraying strontium, and there has never been any proposal or discussion from scientists that included spraying strontium in any form.

So why do the "chemtrail" promoters think there's this "footprint", well, it turns out it was a bit of an accident that dates back to a post 15 years ago when someone found a patent for coating things with barium strontium titanate, which is a substance used in electronics.

http://chemtrails.yuku.com/reply/9548/ENEMY-RADAR-VIEW#reply-9548

US-5919522: Growth of BaSrTiO3 using polyamine-based precursors:
A method of forming a barium- and/or strontium-containing film on a substrate from corresponding precursor(s), comprising liquid delivery and flash
vaporization thereof to yield a precursor vapor at a temperature below about 210 C., and transporting the precursor vapor to a chemical vapor deposition reactor for
formation of a corresponding barium- and/or strontium-containing film on the substrate.
...
Many of the potential applications of these materials require their use in thin film, coating, or layer form. The films or layers may also be advantageously epitaxially related to the substrate upon which they are formed. Applications in which materials may need to be deposited in film or layer form include integrated circuits, switches, radiation detectors, thin film capacitors, holographic storage media, and various other microelectronic optical and communication devices.

The process is called "chemical vapor deposition", and it's possible they got confused and thought this mean spraying chemicals in the air. But regardless, the misconception seems to have stuck, and now 15 years later the chemtrail promoters are basing their entire theory on finding this "footprint" of geoengineering, a footprint that, it turns out, never existed in the first place.

 

[skephu]

when someone found a patent for creating a metal film including strontium, which was related to a different patent for chaff

Let's note that actually there is no relationship between the two patents, other than the fact that both describe a chemical vapor deposition procedure to manufacture objects coated with a thin film.

Also, barium doesn't occur in any geoengineering patents either.

 

[Mick West]

Let's note that actually there is no relationship between the two patents, other than the fact that both describe a chemical vapor deposition procedure to manufacture objects coated with a thin film.

Fixed that, the BaSrTiO3 patent is just for the creation of electronic components. I thought that it was referenced in the chaff patent. They probably just both indirectly reference some older patent for chemical vapor deposition. There's kind of a family tree for patents.

Edit: actually I can't find any simple connection, so yeah, looks like they are unrelated. And anyway, chaff isn't geoengineering.

 

[Mick West]

Added another infographic to the OP:

 

[Mick West]

It's also interesting that the term "Welsbach Material" has never been used in the context of geoengineering outside of that one patent.

What are Welsbach materials? The patent says:

http://www.google.com/patents/US5003186

Such materials include Welsbach materials and the oxides of metals which have high emissivity (and thus low reflectivities) in the visible and 8-12 micron infrared wavelength regions.

...

materials characterized by wavelength-dependent emissivity or reflectivity, in that said materials have high emissivities in the visible and far infrared wavelength regions and low emissivity in the near infrared wavelength region. Such materials can include the class of materials known as Welsbach materials. The oxides of metal, e.g., aluminum oxide, are also suitable for the purpose.

Which is interesting as the wording there suggests "the oxides of metal" are NOT "Welsbach materials".

In fact the term "Welsbach material" is almost exclusive to the chemtrail conspiracy theory. There's no wikipedia entery for Welsbach materials, the only real results are:

It seem that a "Welsbach material" is another name for material used for gas mantles (aka Welsbach mantles) - materials that glow brightly when heated.

So a "Welsbach material" is pretty much just Thorium Dioxide used on gas mantles.

 

[JDubyah]

More like a 'fingerprint' for fallout from a fireworks display..

I like the graphic, but I worry that some will see Al and Ba up there without the X and somehow spin it as an admission that Aluminum and Barium *are* part of the fingerprint of 'chemtrails'.

 

[Mick West]

More like a 'fingerprint' for fallout from a fireworks display..

I like the graphic, but I worry that some will see Al and Ba up there without the X and somehow spin it as an admission that Aluminum and Barium *are* part of the fingerprint of 'chemtrails'.

One step at a time.

 

[cloudspotter]

Couple of points. Barium was mentioned in a proposal at least so "only one of which" isn't quite correct (don't know if Keith took out a patent on the levitating disks), and you go from fingerprint at the start to footprint at the end.

 

[skephu]

Barium was mentioned in a proposal at least so "only one of which" isn't quite correct

It's correct because it says "one of which is in geoengineering patents". Keith's proposal is not patented. He is against patenting SRM proposals because he thinks no private company should profit from the technology.

 

[cloudspotter]

It's correct because it says "one of which is in geoengineering patents". Keith's proposal is not patented. He is against patenting SRM proposals because he thinks no private company should profit from the technology.

Yeah it's nit picking but the kind of technicality that would lead some to dismiss the entire thing

 

[skephu]

Interestingly, in his last radio interview, Dane Wigington listed the geoengineering materials as "aluminum, barium, and other metals I don't want to mention".

 

[Spectrar Ghost]

"Vanadium said it'd hurt my family if I said... Oh no."

 

[Mick West]

and you go from fingerprint at the start to footprint at the end.

Yeah, I remembered it as "Fingerprint", and only when I came to do the second graphic did I see it was "footprint". I'll change it all to avoid complication.

 

[mrfintoil]

Concerning the Welsbach patent, it's also worth noting that the claims made in the patent is not about blocking out the sun (Wigington claimed it did). The patent believes such methods (spraying reflective metals) will contribute to global warmnig and the patent is actually proposing a different mechanism to cool the atmosphere. Discussed here:
https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-welsbach-patent-as-evidence-for-chemtrails.t6510/

 

[MikeG]

Interestingly, in his last radio interview, Dane Wigington listed the geoengineering materials as "aluminum, barium, and other metals I don't want to mention".

Dane Wigington appeared on a three-hour long Wagemann and Wagemann podcast on July 8th.



At about 46:10, he responds to a question about the materials he found in aerial spraying. He focused primarily on aluminum, basically repeating a summary of past claims. He did mention barium, but not strontium.

It is interesting that he included copper in the "lethal brew" (his words) being sprayed on the world.

 

[Mick West]

Concerning the Welsbach patent, it's also worth noting that the claims made in the patent is not about blocking out the sun (Wigington claimed it did). The patent believes such methods (spraying reflective metals) will contribute to global warmnig and it is actually proposing a different mechanism to cool the atmosphere. Discussed here:
https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-welsbach-patent-as-evidence-for-chemtrails.t6510/

Very true (if unfortunately difficult to explain to people). I've split out your explanation into to separate thread.

 

[Marin B]

It's also interesting that the term "Welsbach Material" has never been used in the context of geoengineering outside of that one patent.

What are Welsbach materials? The patent says:

http://www.google.com/patents/US5003186

Such materials include Welsbach materials and the oxides of metals which have high emissivity (and thus low reflectivities) in the visible and 8-12 micron infrared wavelength regions.

In fact the term "Welsbach material" is almost exclusive to the chemtrail conspiracy theory. There's no wikipedia entery for Welsbach materials, the only real results are:
.

I searched a patent database for the term "welsbach material", the first occurrence was in a patent that issued in 1930 for "Electric Lamp with Concentrated Light Source" - US Pat No 2,007,945. The term is used once in the following context: " A cylinder I2 of refractory material such as Nernst or Welsbach material may be supported by any suitable means..."

The term doesn't appear again until 1988 in a patent issued to Hughes Aircraft for "Selective Thermal Radiators"
Abstract:Source: US4755673A [EN] An improved thermal radiator uses host materials having high internal reflection and scattering co-efficients for improved effectiveness. Selective thermal radiators are used for frequency conversion of incident radiation through the Welsbach effect. A Welsbachmaterial screen is used to convert incident IR radiation into visible radiation, permitting visual observation of IR radiation and facilitating control and monitoring of IR equipment. Welsbach material is also used as a dynamic IR target which converts incident visible radiation into a high resolution IR source pattern. Welsbach material is also employed as a temperature stable material for converting solar radiation into heat.

Then it shows up in 4 more Hughes Aircraft publications around 1990, the last being a European patent publication for a "Temperature Regulating Coating". The term wasn't used for 20+ years after that until it showed up in US patent application publication no. 2014/0150668, for "Steel Rail Solar Radiation Sheilding (sic)", which published last year listing Keith Langenbeck and Shelton James as inventors.

So it shows up in just 7 patent publications, 5 of which were assigned to Hughes Aircraft.

 

[skephu]

Somewhat related:
DEBUNKED: Geoengineering patent suggests spraying aluminum, barium and strontium to reflect sunlight

 

[skephu]

Some chemtrail believers cite this patent for cloud seeding: Metallic composition for production of hygroscopic smoke.
This proposes, among others, barium and strontium (and also aluminum):

The present invention is for a composition which upon combustion yields hygroscopic smoke. It comprises a carbonate selected from the group consisting of lithium, sodium, potassium, cesium, rubidium, calcium, magnesium, strontium and barium carbonates and mixtures thereof; a light metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum, magnesium, zinc and zirconium and mixtures thereof; and an inorganic oxidizer selected from the group consisting of nitrates and perchlorates of sodium, lithium, potassium, calcium, barium and strontium; and a polyhalogen compound selected from the group consisting of hexachloroethane and octachloropropane.

Of course this is not for geoengineering but for cloud seeding. It proposes a mixture that is burned to produce smoke, and barium and strontium are only examples in a long list of elements that could potentially be used. The patent mentions two concrete examples for mixtures, none of which contain either barium or strontium (although they contain aluminum):

Example 1 Ingredients: Percent by weight Lithium carbonate 19.34 Hexachloroethane 20.66 Aluminum 20.50 Potassium perchlorate 39.50

Example ll Ingredients: Percent by weight Lithium carbonate 16.9 Hexachloroethane 18.1 Aluminum 22.3 Potassium perchlorate 42.7

Also, this patent is from 1966, and chances are it has never been used.

 

[mrfintoil]

Of course this is not for geoengineering but for cloud seeding.

The problem is that believers often confuse the two, thinking they are exactly the same thing. I've seen it plenty in my discussions online.

 

[Trailblazer]

Of course, there are certain white lines that contain strontium... and barium!

http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US5665793

 

[Mick West]

Of course, there are certain white lines that contain strontium... and barium!

And aluminum.

 

[CeruleanBlu]

An interesting NASA test involving some "buzzwords" came up, and I think it might be best to drop this here in the strontium discussion. (If it doesn't fit Mick please move to a reasonable place.) This is what caught my attention:

Approximately six minutes after launch, the sounding rocket will deploy four sub-payloads containing mixtures of barium and strontium will be released, creating a cloud that is blue-green and red in color.

When I sought out more information I found this piece from a NASA site:

The ejection technologies will include a deployment system for forming vapor clouds in space for wind and ionosphere studies and ejectable sub-payloads testing data transmissions between sub and main-payloads during suborbital rocket flights, primarily during auroral studies.

Hesh said, "These two technologies will allow researchers to make real-time onsite measurements over a much wider area and increase the amount of data obtained than is currently possible during a suborbital rocket flight."

During the test of the deployment system for the vapor clouds, four sub-payloads with mixtures of barium and strontium will be ejected from the main payload and the vapor will be deployed while the payload is descending. The test also will include the release of vapor from two systems on the main payload during the descent portion of the flight.

The vapor tracer sub-payload deployment method being tested on this flight uses small rocket motors to eject the sub-payloads from the main payload. The ejected sub-payloads will release the vapor at about 130 miles above the Earth. The main payload releases will occur at an altitude around 118 miles.

The barium-strontium mixture produces a cloud with a mixture of blue-green and red color. The blue-green part is neutral, i.e. not charged. Strontium is used to enhance the visibility of the neutral flow.

The amount of barium and strontium used in the test is much smaller than that used in a typical July 4 fireworks display and poses no hazard to the community.

The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will be open at 6 p.m. for viewing the launch.

I highlighted some interesting bits. It seems that when NASA does see fit to use one of these chemicals as a tracer agent it's awfully high up there, and can leave visible colored vapor clouds. Plus they use less than a July 4th fireworks show puts out.





Edit: If anyone catches this in the next few minutes they are showing it live on USTREAM, and say the vapor release should be visible!

 

[Marin B]

I highlighted some interesting bits. It seems that when NASA does see fit to use one of these chemicals as a tracer agent it's awfully high up there, and can leave visible colored vapor clouds. Plus they use less than a July 4th fireworks show puts out.

Last night I watched a local 4th of July firework display from a hillside about 2 miles away from the display. I couldn't help but notice how long a cloud of smoke persisted above the display area. So I googled "aluminum, barium, strontium & fireworks" and sure enough, they are all elements found in fireworks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrotechnic_colorant
I wonder if any local chemtrail believers have spent $$ testing water samples from the lagoon where the fireworks were launched and concluded that planes flying at >30,000K have been dumping chemicals on us?

 

[Mick West]

I should post this every year
https://www.metabunk.org/aluminum-barium-and-strontium-in-fireworks.t3905/