The area of the Earth's water surface is 361,132 thousand square meters. km, which is 70.8% of the total surface area of the globe. The importance of water in nature is great. Modern scientific research on water makes it possible to consider it as a unique substance. It participates in all physical-geographical, biological, geochemical and geophysical processes occurring on Earth, is the driving force behind many global processes on the planet.
The water that entered the atmosphere is carried by air currents and condenses to the Earth in the form of precipitation. One part of them goes through rivers to lakes and the ocean, and the other goes to moisten the soil and replenish groundwater, which take part in feeding rivers, lakes and seas.
The annual cycle involves 525.1 thousand km3 of water. On average, 1030 mm of precipitation falls on our planet per year and about the same amount evaporates (in volume units 525,000 km3).
Water is an essential natural resource for all life on Earth. The human body is 70% water, if for several days water does not enter the human body, dehydration begins, and then death occurs. Water is essential not only for nutrition and hygiene, but also for various industries. And for all this, fresh water is needed, the reserves of which are rapidly falling today due to urbanization, water pollution and other factors.
The main sources of fresh water are rivers, lakes and swamps. Unfortunately, the globe is designed in such a way that geographically, not all parts of the world have the same number of bodies of water. For example, in Europe, which is home to 20% of the world's population, fresh water reserves account for only 7% of the world's reserves.
There are territories on Earth where there is a shortage of clean drinking water, and people there even give their lives to get at least a little water for survival.
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Every year on March 22, the planet celebrates World Water Day or World Water Day, designed to draw public attention to issues related to the protection of water resources. But there are problems. Thus, in 2006, about 1.1 billion people did not have normal and safe drinking water, and more people died from floods and droughts than from other natural disasters.
The lack of fresh water today is experienced by 1/3 of the world's population. Lack of water has led to the fact that in Holland and Japan, clean water is brought from Norway, and then sold in stores. Water is delivered to Hong Kong by tankers. Developed countries can afford to buy clean fresh water and are willing to spend money on its transportation and delivery. But, if we turn to the African tribes and many other peoples living in the desert area, then they cannot afford such a luxury, and they need water, like everyone else.
Frozen water of Antarctica.
The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest on our planet and is approximately 10 times larger than the nearest Greenland ice sheet. It contains about 30 million km³ of ice, that is, 90% of all ice on land.
In the foreseeable future, the frozen water of Antarctica can become a source of clean fresh water for the inhabitants of the Earth, which will almost completely satisfy the entire population growing on Earth with high quality drinking water.
Antarctica is an inexhaustible source of fresh water. The main thing is to learn how to deliver it to all corners of the Earth in need of water in the most rational way.
Deliveries of Antarctic ice to Israel.
One of the characteristic places with a constant shortage of fresh water can be considered the territory of Palestine, where it simply does not rain in summer. The main source of fresh water in Israel is Lake Kinneret.
To date, it has shallowed to critical levels. Intensive rains are not expected in the near future.
For a long-term salvation of the situation with a shortage of fresh water in Israel, it would be necessary to place an extensive base in the Gulf of Eilat to receive water from Antarctica.
To Antarctica itself send a complex of machines and mechanisms to develop the continent's glaciers, which this country of eternal ice abounds in.
This complex should include a powerful nuclear power plant capable of ensuring the operation of all machines and mechanisms working on the glacier, as well as comfortable living conditions for people in this complex.
Such an energy carrier will not be a source of pollution of the Antarctic environment.
In particular, Russia has already begun to create a floating nuclear power plant, and its goal will be the same, to provide clean energy to facilities on the northern coast of Russia.
The only difference between such a nuclear power plant and a nuclear ship in Antarctica is its hull shape. The body must have a prototype of a pear. This shape will allow the ship to be stable on the water, and will also be able to withstand the compression of ice when the sea water freezes around this station.
A hangar is being built on the "shore" of the glacier to service the complex of machines and mechanisms, which should at the same time be their repair base.
The process of extracting ice from the glacier itself will be carried out by milling machines, with the supply of crushed ice through pipelines to the area of its loading into special floating containers, such as an elastic sleeve.
To service the warehouse with flexible containers, in order to prevent freezing of the territory of this offshore warehouse, it is necessary to develop and build a floating vehicle with a saw unit capable of removing ice from the water area and providing free passage of floating containers to the open ocean.
To transport this container, it is necessary to develop and build a marine special. transport, with a fins propeller, under the general name "DELPH". Those. like a dolphin.
The efficiency of such a drive has been proven by nature itself and it is not clear why such a propulsion device has not yet been developed and is not in demand in maritime transport.
Among the fish, the champion in speed swimming is the swordfish. At the time of the throw, she develops a speed of over 110 km per hour. And this with such a small tail, a relatively large body.
The largest members of the family are the Atlantic blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), reaching a length of 5 meters and weighing more than 800 kg.
The distance from Israel to Antarctica is about 12,000 km. Delph will be able to cover this distance in 10 - 11 days. During this time, the ice crumbs in an elastic container will turn into water, which will be unloaded at the terminal of the Eilat port.
Mikhail Zosimenko