New Technology Could Tap Into a Virtually Limitless Supply of Fresh Water

There isn't enough fresh water to go around on planet Earth, and it's expected to get worse in the future.

We will only be able to meet demand if we recycle and restrict our water. To meet our needs, scientists will need to find new sources.

The water vapor above the oceans is a potential source of supplies. A new study shows how harvesting structures could be used.

"Eventually, we will need to find a way to increase the supply of fresh water as conserve and recycled water from existing sources, albeit essential, will not be enough to meet human needs," says civil and environmental engineer Praveen Kumar.

Our new method can do that at large scale.

The proposed structure is roughly the height of a large cruise ship and it mimics the natural water cycle in how it transports, condenses, and collects water.

A cooling system could condense the water vapor into a liquid from the moist air that was just above the ocean surface. All of this would be powered by renewable wind or solar energy.

The researchers crunched the numbers on the amount of extractableMoisture across 14 study sites around the world The average daily drinking water needs of half a million people could be met by just one installation.

Desalination plants already operate in many places around the world to remove the dissolved salts from the water.

"It hasn't been done before, and I think it's because researchers are so focused on land-based solutions - but our study shows other options do, in fact, exist."

Less than 3% of the world's water is fresh, and most of it is too polluted or difficult to use. We've seen promising projects that can increase our access to fresh water sources, but we're still waiting for technology that can really make a difference.

The world's poor are often the hardest hit by the scarcity of safe, drinkable water. A system like the one proposed here has the potential to make a huge difference.

Even as the world warms, the researchers concluded that their system would still be sustainable.

Rahman says that the climate projections show that there will be more freshwater available in the future. It will be possible under climate change.

It provides an effective approach for adapting to climate change for vulnerable populations living in arid and semi-arid regions of the world.

The research was published in a scientific journal.