Researches discover freshwater in the Norwegian Sea
Finding freshwater in the Norwegian Sea and the Atlantic gives researchers hope for new water resources. It may supplement areas that lack drinking water.
The discovery in the Norwegian Sea was made at an 800-metre depth in two narrow valley rifts on the continental slope off the Lofoten Islands, Norway’s Geological Survey (NGU) informs on its home page.
The phenomenon probably arose during the last ice age, when the thick ice cap, which enclosed Norway, pushed the earth’s crust down with tremendous force. This led to large amounts of melt-water being forced down through cracks in the seabed.
The NGU researchers haven’t the faintest idea about how much freshwater is hidden under the seabed. They find the discovery «very surprising».
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1 billion swimming pools
The researchers draw parallels to a similar discovery, made by American researchers from Columbia University in New York and the Oceanographic Institute in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. They, recently, found freshwater in the Atlantic Ocean, along the northeastern coast of the United States, equivalent to sufficient water to fill 1.1 billion swimming pools, according to CNN.
“This means that such large freshwater pockets may also be a potential resource in areas where water is scarce on land,” Jochen Knies, explains. Kries is Project Manager and Marine Geologist at NGU
Fishermen in Nordland have previously reported that they have found freshwater in the ocean at the Nordbrei Bank, a few kilometres outside Meløy Municipality, according to the researchers.
© #Norway Today
