Fresh water under the ocean
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
This intrigues me:
A giant reservoir of “secret” fresh water off the East Coast that could potentially supply a city the size of New York City for 800 years may have formed during the last ice age, when the region was covered in glaciers, researchers say.
Preliminary analyses suggest the reservoir, which sits beneath the seafloor and appears to stretch from offshore New Jersey as far north as Maine, was locked in place under frigid conditions around 20,000 years ago, hinting that it formed in the last glacial period due, partly, to thick ice sheets.
That’s pretty nifty.
This is amazing.
I work in the Children’s Room at the Main library here. Two summers ago I led a program for children on aquifers. Did some research and learned a lot. Had the kids make aquifers in mason jars.
Most parts of the United States get their fresh water from aquifers. That is true for Louisiana. I’m from the Northeast where it’s usually reservoirs.
South Louisiana used to have several layers of fresh water underground. Overuse led to saltwater intrusion and we have only two layers left. Biggest user? Industry. Well shucks. Why not take water from the Mississippi? The problem is how. Water from aquifers is cheap and easy. But if we lose our aquifers we have a serious problem.
My wife and I had a great trip to Las Vegas last year. They are obsessed with water conservation. Las Vegas has reduced per capita water usage over the last two decades.
They find these from time to time. I’ve found articles online going back to 2013. I don’t know if this is “recycled” news or a genuinely new discovery.
LV could save a lot more water if they shut down the golf courses. Water from CO is getting scarce. We are not getting the snows this year so far. Farmers in CO, NE and KS get water from the Ogallala Aquifer. It has been and is being depleted. I believe that we are going to get some severe water restrictions this year.
Well, it’s pretty intriguing.
Great finding, if true.
But the patents on desalination tech ran out the last decade. Therefore, the only pricy thing need to filter saline from fresh water in the ocean is energy.
Nukes R UR friend!
Wave-powered desalination project approved off Fort Bragg, California.
https://www.offshore-energy.biz/california-clears-key-lease-for-wave-powered-desalination-pilot/
That continental glaciation did a lot of interesting big (continent sized) things.
Kate;
IIRC, neo is fond of that part of the California coast.
Recently came across an interesting Japanese desalination technology that generates electricity from the osmotic process.
Not sure how much can be generated, though.
Then there’s the generation of electricity using tidal forces, but I’m not certain if this is a “thing” (Still, Bay of Fundy-type tidal phenomena seem to be asking to be exploited…)
Endless supply of fresh votes under Republican noses…
From the YIKES File:
“CCP SPY $$$ SPIGOT EXPOSED: How a U.S. Visa Program Designed by a Chinese Spy Lets Beijing Funnel Money into American Elections”—
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/01/21/ccp-spy-spigot-exposed-how-a-u-s-visa-program-designed-by-a-chinese-spy-lets-beijing-funnel-money-into-american-elections/
H/T Powerline blog.
Israel gets 70% of their water from the Mediterranean Sea by way of about (5) large desalination plants and more being built. (2) more are being built that will get them to 90%. Some of those desal plants will be part of a system of pipes tens of miles in length taht will be use to pump fresh water into Kinneret (Sea of Galilee – freshwater) when levels are low due to drought years.
All of their sewage is treated and 100% of the waste water from that is used for crop irragation other non potable uses.
Read “let There be water” by Seth Siegel – fascintang book
The Mullahs are blaming Israel for their drought claiming the Jews are stealing Iran’s clouds. The simpler explanation besides Iran wasting money on weapons is that Allah doesn’t like the Ayatollah regime much.
So, tap the Atlantic ocean fresh water and sell it to Iran. I barrel of oil for one barrel of water.
I’m with TJ, John Galt III and Barry,
There’s plenty of water on Earth and plenty of ways to get it. I’m pretty sure I read of a tidal desalinization project in one of the wealthy, Arabian oil rich nations that has the process close to energy neutral.
Fresh water for humanity is only a problem due to local errors. For example, southern California has 15,000,000 to 20,000,000 more people living there than is sensible, based on water resources.
Water is a renewable resource. https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/has-earth-gained-or-lost-water
And let’s not forget that Bill Gates has built a machine to turn feces into potable water: https://www.gatesnotes.com/Omniprocessor-From-Poop-to-Potable
@TJ: Nukes R UR friend!
Yes, indeedy!
AI is going to force us to substantially increase the grid capacity, as well as another needs. Musk says by 3x. Only one place to go for that much energy now — nukes.
_____________________________
@Rufus T. Firefly: Bill Gates has built a machine to turn feces into potable water:
Singapore is already doing that on a mass scale with their NEWater plants since 2003 at the rate of 200 million US gallons per day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEWater
Don’t be concerned. As soon as a Green group hears about this, we will hear nothing but the Dangers of Subsidence! Quel horreur.
He already turned operating systems into …..
Subsidence of the ground (as seen in Las Vegas) is a problem when you deplete an aquifer; withdraw the groundwater at too great a rate. The aquifer collapses, loosing its ability to be recharged to the prior capacity.
“Carry the water, remove the water.
Remove the water, from the bottom of the ocean”
https://youtu.be/9Ew1FxWY83g?si=r6_Ud49waGeY9eCt
Talking Heads probably didn’t mean this water,
But the lyrics fit.
Same as it ever was.
There are some big aquifers under the Sahara, too.
Maybe 10k years ago many hippos & crocs. But … climate changed.
“……formed during the last ice age…..”
I wonder what sort of SUVs, coal fired plants, industrial facilities, the use of natural gas, and human activity in general, etc., caused the global warming that melted the ice sheets back then and, it appears, left a gigantic aquifer of fresh water to be tapped.
Maybe some global warming is a good thing.
Aren’t the Great Lakes the largest reserve of fresh water. All we need is a piping system to get it where we need it.
Tina.
I live on the shore of Lake Michigan and, no, it’s ours.
One problem is that the Great Lakes Basin is a basin. Most of the places the water needs to go are higher. Raising a pint of water a foot takes a foot-pound of energy, then there’s the friction.
Due to farming and development within maybe ten miles of the shore, out aquifers are being depleted. Turns out that, despite the enormous hydraulic pressure of the lakes, it takes about three years for water to get through the aquifer rock formations to ten or so miles inland.
But we have lots of rivers which should handle everything but farming. Those folks may have to wait for rain. Our total precip from year to year isn’t small, but it can be irregular.
One of my public services is to water my lawn during a dry spell, which has about a 93% chance of causing substantial rainfall. I’m just that kind of guy.
Most hydro uses a reservoir–frequently also used for nearby cities–to control the flow of a river in order to control the flow through the dam and other facilities. To do the same with tides would require a huge tidal pool, so to speak, taking water in at high tide until it is higher than the ambient water level so it can flow out through the generators. Or you could have the generators in the tide flow which would vary according to the tide at the moment.
Not a simple procedure.
I’m in Chicago and our drinking water comes from Lake Michigan. It did take the reversing of the flow of the Chicago river to prevent sewage from contaminating it, which was done around 1900.
Paul S. Hope that works for the jumping carp, too.