Fact check: High-frequency research program studies ionosphere, can't create hurricanes

The claim: High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) can create hurricanes

After Hurricane Ian ravaged the Caribbean and southeastern U.S. at the end of September, a years-old conspiracy theory about the government being able to control weather resurfaced on social media.

One Instagram video, which received 136 likes in two weeks, includes a caption alleging the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program could be used to control the weather.

"HAARP, the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Project, is a millitary (sic) project that uses Extremely Low Frequency radio waves, it can be used to manipulate the weather & to create hurricanes," reads the Sept. 29 Instagram post's caption.

It isn't true, though.

The research program focuses on the ionosphere, which is located between Earth's lower atmosphere and space, while almost all weather occurs in the lower atmosphere. The program does not affect the weather, according to experts.

"There is no credible mechanism by which HAARP can modify the weather or the neutral atmosphere in any detectable way," said Keith Groves, the associate director of the Institute for Scientific Research at Boston College. "Claims of this type are completely unfounded. They are sensational, but neither serious nor scientific."

HAARP also has little involvement with the military. While the HAARP research facility used to be operated by the U.S. Air Force, it has been run by the University of Alaska Fairbanks since 2015.

USA TODAY reached out to several users who shared the post for comment.

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The ionosphere does not affect the weather

No one has the ability to create a storm, experts told USA TODAY. This is also true for HAARP, especially since it is focused on studying the ionosphere.

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The ionosphere is a layer of charged particles that separates the atmosphere and space, said Toshi Nishimura, an associate professor at Boston University.

There is no evidence the ionosphere can affect the weather, he said.

This is because the atmospheric pressure in the ionosphere is less than a millionth of the atmospheric pressure on the ground.

"It's too light to create any appreciable disturbance in the lower atmosphere. It's like an adult trying to push an aircraft carrier," Nishimura said. "No matter how hard the person pushes, the aircraft carrier is not going to move at all."

Groves said the claim conflicts with the nature of how hurricanes form.

"Hurricanes are driven by the heating that occurs when water vapor condenses in the atmosphere as air parcels rise," explained Groves. "Storms always originate at lower altitudes and grow vertically upward. The physics is all wrong."

Jessica Matthews, the HAARP program manager at the University of Alaska, agreed.

"Radio waves in the frequency ranges that HAARP transmits are not absorbed in either the troposphere or the stratosphere – the two levels of the atmosphere that produce Earth’s weather," she said. "Since there is no interaction, there is no way to control the weather."

In addition, she said, "If the ionospheric storms caused by the sun itself don’t affect the surface weather, there is no chance that HAARP can either."

Research at the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program occurs two to four times a year for one or two weeks each. The research is focused on better understanding space weather in the ionosphere, which can impact GPS satellites, electronics on spacecraft and radio communications, said Matthews.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that HAARP can create hurricanes. There is no known mechanism to influence the weather on Earth from the ionosphere, which is the area the research program studies. Scientists say there's no way to create a manmade storm like a hurricane.

Our fact-check sources:

• Keith Groves, Oct. 13-25, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• Toshi Nishimura, Oct. 20-25, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• Jessica Matthews, Oct. 13-25, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• USA TODAY, Oct. 5, Fact check: Baseless Hurricane Ian conspiracy theory spreads online

• High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, accessed Oct. 13-25, About HAARP

• NASA Science, accessed Oct. 13-25, 10 Things to Know About the Ionosphere

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, accessed Oct. 13, Ionosphere | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center

• University of Alaska Fairbanks, accessed Oct. 26, Research Campaigns

• University of Alaska Fairbanks, accessed Oct. 13-26, FAQ | HAARP

• National Weather Service, accessed Oct. 28, Layers of the Atmosphere

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: High-frequency research program cannot create hurricanes