Huge Underground Reservoir of Freshwater Discovered Off The Coast of Hawai'i

[Judi Lynn]

MICHELLE STARR 26 NOVEMBER 2020

For a long time, Hawai'i Island has been home to a mystery. Somehow, the amount of freshwater in underground aquifers has seemed much smaller than it should be, given the amount of rainfall.

Scientists have just found out why. Deep underground, running below the island's coast, vast quantities of freshwater are transported from the flanks of the volcano Hualālai down into newly discovered reservoirs that run deep below the ocean floor.

It's a discovery that has implications for volcanic islands around the world – an untapped potential renewable resource that could prove invaluable as the global climate rapidly changes.

"Our findings provide a paradigm shift from the conventional hydrologic conceptual models that have been vastly used by multiple studies and water organisations in Hawaiʻi and other volcanic islands to calculate sustainable yields and aquifer storage for the past 30 years," said geophysicist Eric Attias of the University of Hawaiʻi.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/there-s-a-huge-underground-reservoir-of-freshwater-off-the-coast-of-hawai-i

[AllyCat]

1. Fascinating!

[NoMoreRepugs]

2. Freshwater below seawater - amazing.

[cstanleytech]

9. More like below the ground that is covered by sea water but yes it is interesting to read.

[BComplex]

3. Great news in all different ways! Thanks Judi Lynn!!

Nice post!

[BigmanPigman]

4. How cool is that!

[CentralMass]

5. That's refreshing news.

[Cha]

6. Wow.. Interesting.. TY!

[burrowowl]

7. Hawaii is blessed to have this.

[Hekate]

8. That's astonishing. In my 1960s high school Science class on O'ahu, we were taught...

...that Island water resources were definitely finite. Rain filtered through layers of volcanic rock to an underground reservoir: a “lens” of fresh water that floated atop brackish water. To drain too much too quickly meant you were left with increasingly salty water and no recovery. So that idea has been around much longer than 30 years.

I look forward to reading this article and thinking it over. Bookmarking.

Thanks, Judi Lynn

[Buckeye_Democrat]

10. Cue some right-wing business-people to sell it...

... as bottled water called "Hawaiian Spray" or whatever, depleting nearly all of it while also helping to fill the oceans with more plastic.

[live love laugh]

13. +1

[democrank]

11. Very interesting

Thanks for posting this, Judi Lynn.

[jybarz]

12. Salt water is heavier than fresh water... meaning it's more dense.

Salt water is heavier than fresh water and therefore fresh water should be above the salt water.

So, indeed this is a mystery as salt water should be below the fresh water because it is denser.