Huge Ocean Found Underneath a Desert!

Researchers recently discovered a giant ocean under one of the largest the deserts in the world. The site can be a potential repository of an estimated 1 billion tons of unaccounted carbon dioxide.

Tech Times reported that for many years, scientists have been searching for about 1 billion tons of unaccounted carbon dioxide, produced annually from the burning of fossil fuels. Every year, about 11 billion tons of carbon are generated and over 5 billion stay in the atmosphere. 3 billion go to the ocean and the remainder most likely go to the forests. There is 1 billion tons that are still missing, which now appear to have stayed in a hidden ocean beneath the deserts of the world.

The Chinese desert, called Tarim basin, is situated in northwestern Xinjiang, China, and is among the driest places on earth. Under it is saltwater with a volume about 10 times more than the total in the five Great Lakes in North America.

“Never before have people dared to imagine so much water under the sand. Our definition of desert may have to change,” said Li Yan from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The researchers published their study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters on July 28, 2015. They stated that there might be huge amounts of water under the biggest deserts on Earth, functioning as carbon dioxide repositories. They stated that the water underneath the Tarim basin is salty and contains a lot of carbon dioxide. The experts suggested that the waters may hold more carbon than all the plants on Earth. In fact, the aquifers beneath the deserts may be capable of storing 14 times more carbon than previously reported.

The group tested water from deep beneath the ground in almost 200 locations across the Chinese desert, and compared the samples with those in melt water. They were able to estimate the amount of water that enters the basin, and said that the estimate is conservative. Their might actually be more water in the basin.

The Tarim basin was deemed a carbon sink zone by the researchers, which means that it absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in huge amounts. Because deserts rarely have any plants, it used to be uncommon for the dry land to be considered as a carbon sink zone. The reason dates back 2,000 years ago when settlers started to irrigate the land. The soil of local farms is salty and dissolves carbon dioxide from the air more readily compared to fresh water, based on a report by Business Insider. (Latinos Post)

Contact

LI Yan

Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences

E-mail: liyan@ms.xjb.ac.cn