1.0 Introduction
Water is undoubtedly one of the most abundant elements on our planet. It is present in all areas of the world either as liquid, solid or gas. It does not diminish the fact, however, that fresh water is relatively rare, and its shortage in certain areas may have long-lasting negative economic, social and ecological consequences. Human body may survive without food for up to sixty days, yet absence of water may lead to death from dehydration within 6 days, in certain arid and hot areas – within just 2 days, and lack of peoper drinking water may lead to irreparable damage to the organism even after 24 hours since dehydration starts. Fresh water is the cornerstone of agriculture. Crops and kettle require it on a permanent daily basis, and failure to provide this resource may have a very fast and permanently negative impact on the entire regions. Industry is no exception, either – certain areas of energetics and manufacturing (e.g. production of semiconductors) require water for all major processes. Given this information, it is undoubtedly true that fresh water has the value uncomparable to any other resources, maybe except for the air per se. It is also true that the population of the Earth has unequal access to water. While people of countries and regions with mild climate and plenty of lakes and rivers may afford the luxury of using as much water as they need and enjoy flourishing and prosperous agriculture and industry, natives of some arid and hot areas can only afford a few bottles of drinking water per day. Let’s have a bief look at the correlation between geographical position of arid regions and availability of fresh water.
Figure 1. Distribution of arid regions on Earth (WCHAE)
Figure 2. Availability of fresh water for people in various regions (red representing the shortage) (Motoshita, 2013, p.37)
There are several technical methods of providing fresh water to arid areas of the planet. Some of them are being currently utilized, others may be theoretically implemented in the forseeable future. It should be kept in mind, though, that not every technique is fit for all regions. There is currently no single universal solution, yet the positive tendency towards finding it definitely exists. Now let’s have a brief look at feasible techniques of providing fresh water to arid regions, respective pros and cons as well as existing technical limitations.
2.0 Feasible techniques for providing fresh water
2.1 Utilization of local resources – Artesian wells and glaciers.
It is comonly acknowledged that there is water present even in the most abandoned and arid areas of the world. The problem is in detecting respective deposits and obtaining the most efficient method of their exploitation. Artesian wells of considerable depth can be drilled even in deserts if it is technically, economically and socially justified. Glaciers are present on mountain tops even in the hottest spots of the Earth, so these gargantuan fresh water deposits are so hypothetically available. There are, however certain restrictions that should be taken into accout while assessing these possibilities.
Technical limitations.
First of all, it may be very difficult to detect water deposits at a considerable depth (over 70-100 m). Special means of geospatial intelligence, similar to those which are used for detection of oil and gas fields, may be used. This may be an expensive luxury to afford.
Secondly, such measures may be used only if they are economically justified. There is no use drilling deep and expensive wells in the middle of nowhere, as there may be no demand for so much water due to scarcity of the local population and respective industrial and agricultural facilities.
Finally, it is not just enough to drill the well or get access to the glacial ice. This water has to be transferred to consumers through a large and sophisticated pipeline system. It is not always possible to install such system due to various factors, civil unstability being one of them. Water pipelines may become in arid, poor and distorted areas a mechanism of political influence and oppression, same way as oil and gas pipelines already are. This prevents such system from development and proper functioning even in the areas where creation of such system is properly justified.
If built, however, such infrastructure utilizing ground and glacier water may be be a very valuable asset to the local economy and solve the problem within certain areas. This technique is absolutely feasible, yet is not commonly implemented due to the reasons mentioned above.
2.2 Desalination.
Another technique which is currently widely used in arid regions located by the seaside is desalination. The mechanism of such process is relatively simple – sea water, which is of course unfit for personal, agricultural or industrial consumption in its original form, is being either evaporated and then condensated, or being put through certain simple chemical reactions in order to get rid of the excessive dilluted salt. Such technique is also currently being used in the Middle East and certain coastal areas of Africa.
Technical limitations
Artificial desalination of water is a relatively time and energy consuming process. In such technologically advanced countries as Israel, for instance, this technique is not just feasible, but it is currently being used to meet the most of demand for fresh water. Yet poorer countries may have serious problems with affording it. Poor Arab and African countries, states in Southeast Asia (which, also not being formally arid, also experience a considerable shortage of fresh water) may experiencing certain difficulties in manufacturing desalination facilities at an industrial scale.
Apart from that, while desalinated water may be good for technical needs in industry and agriculture, it is very similar to distilled water, which lack certain minerals and microelements necessary for the human body to survive. Desalinated water may save life, but its regular consumption may as well put in in peril. This problem may be solved by artificial mineralization of water, but it is also relatively expensive and not universally affordable.
Desalination of water is therefore a common practice in certain arid areas, but it requires certain prerequisites (e.g. proximity to seaside and presence of certain additional resources) and is not yet universally available.
2.3 Condensation
This is a relatively exotic method of obtaining fresh water, however, it is also quite technically feasible. There is a considerable difference of temperatures in arid areas during the day and at night, which makes all the water which is currently in the air condensate on all solid surfaces available. This process requires a certain degree of humidity, so it is not fit for all regions. Certain attempts have been made throughout the 20th century to tame this process for the sake of fresh water consumers. Although being technically simple and basically reflecting a natural and already existing process, condensation requires considerable territorial resources and a sophisticated system of pipes and water collectors. This idea was not yet implemented at a national scale due to relatively low efficiency.
2.4 Transportation of water.
This may seem to be the most obvious solution – if there is no fresh water in the arid area, then the water may be imported there. Although logically flawless, this system is technically complex and not so efficient. Water has the compression qoefficient close to zero, and it is not possible to transfer it under pressure, like huge tankers do with liquified natural gas. There have been several speculations in the second half of the 20th century concerning the possibility of transporting an iceberg from Arctica or Antarctica towards the arid countries in need, however even if it was technically possible, the current process of climate change would not allow any large object of that kind reach the necessary destination – the iceberg would simply melt on the way. Besides, such system would require a respective infrastructure and access to the sea coast.
3.0 Conclusion
As it may be inferred from the information provided above, the human genius has invented various ways of solving one of the most urgent problems of the global population, even though certain methods may be currently unrealistic. It is in our power and in the power of the next generations to find an ultimate solution to this problem.
References:
1. Kashef, A.-A. I. (1986). Groundwater Ingeneering. McGraw-Hill International Editions.
2. Khawaji, A.D., Kutubkhanah, I.K., and Wie, J.M. (2008). Advances in Seawater Desalination Technologies. Elsevier.
3. Fang, J., and Ding, Y.(2005). Study of the Condensation Water and Its Effect Factors on the Fringes of Desert Oasis. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, Vol.5(2005). Web. Retrieved from http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-BCDT200505019.htm
4. Distribution of Arid Regions on Earth (classification after Koeppen-Geiger) (2013). Working Committee for Hydrogeology of Arid Environments (WCHAE) . Web. Retrieved from http://www.fh-dgg.de/AK_HAG_en.html
5. Motoshita, M. (2013). Responses of Organisms to Water Stress. Web. Retrieved from "http://www.intechopen.com/books/responses-of-organisms-to-water-stress.htm
