Under the salty waters of the Atlantic Ocean, geologists have discovered a gigantic layer of fresh water hidden from view. It is located off the coast of the United States.
While the scale of this space is astonishing, its discovery was not a big surprise. Signals for fresh water in this area first surfaced in the 1970s, but until now, no one suspected that this huge reservoir, trapped in porous rock, could traverse nearly the entire length of the northeastern United States.
Scientists from Columbia University conducted a study off the coast of New Jersey and the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard. Using an electromagnetic receiver housed on research vessel Marcus G. Langseth, the team studied marine groundwater bodies buried in sediments beneath the continental shelves.
The researchers focused on measuring the electrical conductivity of water. As you know, sea water, due to the salts dissolved in it, conducts electric current better than fresh water. Thus, measurements of electrical conductivity in waters under the ocean floor in different places can tell about the extent of the "fresh zone".
Map of the location of the fresh water horizon.
For 10 days, scientists measured groundwater and found that the layer of fresh water extends 350 kilometers along the coast of the United States and contains about 2,800 cubic kilometers of matter. However, measurements by this method require direct contact with groundwater, for which it is necessary to drill wells. Due to the high laboriousness of obtaining data, scientists were able to measure the salinity of groundwater in only two parts of the coast.
To obtain more accurate data on the underground water layer, it is necessary to carry out at least several dozen measurements in different areas of the coast. Now scientists can only claim that the "freshwater zone" extends for 350 kilometers, but in reality its size may be much larger.