There is not enough fresh water Walk around on planet earth and it is a problem that is expected to get worse in the years to come.
To meet growing demand, recycling and restricting our water will only get us so far. Scientists must find new sources of this life-sustaining fluid to meet our needs.
A currently untapped source is the water vapor over the oceans, which is available in almost unlimited quantities. A new study outlines how collection structures could be used to convert that vapor into potable water.
“Eventually, we will need to find a way to increase the supply of fresh water, since conserved and recycled water from existing sources, while essential, will not be sufficient to meet human needs.” says civil and environmental engineer Praveen Kumarfrom the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“We believe our newly proposed method can do this on a large scale.”
At about 210 meters (689 ft) wide and 100 meters (328 ft) tall — about the height of a large cruise ship — the proposed structure mimics the natural water cycle by transporting, condensing, and collecting water.
Moist air would be transported from just above the ocean’s surface to a nearby shore, where cooling systems could condense the water vapor into a liquid. All of this would be powered by renewable wind or solar energy, the team says.
Although the researchers didn’t provide details about their design, they did collect the numbers on the amount of extractable moisture at 14 study sites around the world. Just one of these systems could potentially cover the average daily drinking water needs of around 500,000 people.
This could be a huge addition to desalination plants already in operation in many places around the world to remove dissolved salts from seawater.
“It’s never been done before, and I think that’s because researchers are so focused on land-based solutions — but our study shows that there are actually other options.” says the atmospheric researcher Francina Dominguezfrom the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Fresh water—needed for drinking, bathing, and watering—balances only 3 percent of the water of the world most of them too dirty or inaccessible for convenient use. While we saw several promising projects that can improve our access to freshwater sources, we are still waiting for a technology that can really make a difference on a large scale.
The scarcity of clean, drinkable water often hits the world’s poorest hardest, with repercussions that span health, security and income. Something like the system proposed here has the potential to make a big difference without damaging ecosystems or the environment.
As part of their study, the researchers also looked at possible consequences climate changeand dry areas are getting drier—but they concluded that even if the world warmed, their system would still be sustainable.
“Climate projections show that over time, oceanic vapor flux will only increase, providing even more freshwater supplies,” says Rahman. “So the idea we’re proposing will be viable under climate change.”
“This provides a much-needed and effective approach to climate change adaptation, particularly for vulnerable populations living in arid and semi-arid regions of the world.”
The research was published in Scientific Reports.
