Posted on 12/05/2013 6:52:52 AM PST by blam
Scientists Discover Massive Freshwater Reserves Underneath The Ocean Floor
Agence France Presse
Dec. 5, 2013, 7:22 AM
Australian researchers said Thursday they had established the existence of vast freshwater reserves trapped beneath the ocean floor which could sustain future generations as current sources dwindle.
Lead author Vincent Post, from Australia's Flinders University, said that an estimated 500,000 cubic kilometres (120,000 cubic miles) of low-salinity water had been found buried beneath the seabed on continental shelves off Australia, China, North America and South Africa.
"The volume of this water resource is a hundred times greater than the amount we've extracted from the Earth's sub-surface in the past century since 1900," said Post of the study, published in the latest edition of Nature.
"Freshwater on our planet is increasingly under stress and strain so the discovery of significant new stores off the coast is very exciting.
"It means that more options can be considered to help reduce the impact of droughts and continental water shortages."
UN Water, the United Nations' water agency, estimates that water use has been growing at more than twice the rate of population in the last century due to demands such as irrigated agriculture and meat production.
More than 40 percent of the world's population already live in conditions of water scarcity. By 2030, UN Water estimates that 47 percent of people will exist under high water stress.
Post said his team's findings were drawn from a review of seafloor water studies done for scientific or oil and gas exploration purposes.
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(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Hey, I always wondered what the lyrics were, Dysart. They make no sense. At all. Now that I’ve read them, it’s same as it ever was. Confusing. (Nice song and video, though.)
I think this story about freshwater in abundance under the seabed is a hoax. It makes no sense. At all. And you can’t even dance to it. I give it a 27.
And you may find yourself...
/mark
Every day 30 million gallons of water flows through the head of the Ohio. I have to pay almost $100 per month for water and sewage treatment thanks to the EPA.
It’s insane.
You may ask yourself....
Under the Antarctic is a vast, vast reservoir with two unique sides. One is brine water and the other, which is lower, is fresh water. The earth is an amazing place. It takes care of itself.
Talking heads had it all figured out! Who knew??
And the fountains of the deep gave forth water......
This is not my beautiful wife...
There is the same amount of water yesterday as today. Water doesn't "dwindle." Like Ann Counter said - how can you claim a shortage of something that literally falls from the skies?
Earth...the ultimate recycling machine. Like it or not.
Same as it ever was.
Amazing isn't it how much evidence of Truth there is if we look with open minds.
The Israelis are doing desalination of the Med Sea on a grand scale. That seems more workable than digging for it.
I’m going to take a wild guess how that fresh water got there. Salt water filtering into a large underwater cave and passing through layers of mud and minerals on the bottom of the ocean. This resulted in the removal or absorption of salt similar to how a reverse osmosis system works. Eventually the underground cave became a ungerground ocean. Any more educated ideas?
Amen to that! Every time that I hear someone talk about water as a finite resource, I know I'm listening to an idiot.
Can an ocean be fresh water?
Indeed, my recollection is that Earth's water is reasonably constant, but of course not always in the same place in the same form.
Critical think: If we use all the water in the ocean how will we replace it
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