According to reporting from The New York Times, new research by marine geophysicists reveals that underground rivers running off the western coast of Hawaii are a key force behind vanishing fresh water. Fresh water is often pumped on the island from aquifers formed from rain at higher elevations where it is easy to access. Unfortunately, if too much water gets pumped to meet demand, little remains to travel through rocks to farms and fragile ecosystems that depend on it.
Dr. Eric Attias’ work, published in November in Science Advances, shows that within the rock of the island below the waves, there are underground rivers of fresh water flowing 2-1/2 miles out into the ocean. In total, the rivers appear to contain enough fresh water to fill about 1.4 million Olympic swimming pools. It is speculated that the discovery could be relevant to other islands as well.
Read more about this story from The New York Times.
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