Massive freshwater reserves discovered beneath the oceans
According to a news release from Flinders University, researchers have found massive reserves of freshwater beneath oceans, offering new chances to prevent an emerging global water crisis. They discovered that approximately 500,000 cubic km of low-salinity water are hidden beneath the seabed on continental shelves around the globe.
The water has been found 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,” noted lead author Vincent Post of the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training and the School of the Environment at Flinders University. “Knowing about these reserves is great news because this volume of water could sustain some regions for decades.”
According to Post, groundwater scientists previously believed that freshwater under the seafloor only took place under special conditions, but the new research reveals that freshwater aquifers beneath the oceans are actually commonplace.
http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/researchers-discover-massive-freshwater-reserves-beneath-the-oceans/