Could saltwater be useful for greening deserts and sequestering CO2?

Asked by: Jim Moss

What would happen if we pump ocean water into the desert?

However, pumping sea water and releasing it underground within the Sahara desert may counteract global rising sea levels and promote vegetation amenable to high temperatures that may in turn reduce warm air streams that would otherwise result in eastern super storms or hurricanes.

Can you pump ocean water to the desert?

Yes, it could reduce sea level rise, but it would be no good for irrigation. Many deserts, like the Aral Sea and Death Valley, are below sea level. This means you would not need to use energy to pump the water, but could use the siphon principle.

Can Saltwater be used for crops?

Farming With Salty Water Is Possible



One of the many adverse effects of global climate change is the rise of sea levels, which scientists say can increase the salinity level of fresh water reserves. As saline water cannot be used for irrigation, farm fields close to the seashore are lost to agriculture.

Are deserts Greening?

Deserts ‘greening’ from rising carbon dioxide: Green foliage boosted across the world’s arid regions. Summary: Increased levels of carbon dioxide have helped boost green foliage across the world’s arid regions over the past 30 years through a process called carbon dioxide fertilization, according to new research.

Can you fill Death Valley with seawater?

Since Death Valley is below sea level, we could, as Nick suggests, flood it with seawater. It would take a lot of digging, since there’s a lot of Earth in the way. The lowest route to Death Valley is probably by traveling up the Colorado River watershed, along the Arizona border past Quartzsite,[6]

Could Death Valley be filled with water?

Terraforming this area, a process of turning a hostile environment into one more suitable for human life, would require building a channel from the Pacific Ocean to Death Valley. This would be about 480 to 650 kilometers (300-400 miles) long and would bring water into Death Valley.

Why don’t we pump water from the ocean?

The problem is that the desalination of water requires a lot of energy. Salt dissolves very easily in water, forming strong chemical bonds, and those bonds are difficult to break. Energy and the technology to desalinate water are both expensive, and this means that desalinating water can be pretty costly.

Why can’t we use seawater to irrigate our crops?

Seawater Causes Saline Stress in Plants



If the water is too saline, water will move out of the plants to the soils. Plants absorb water from the ground by osmosis, a process where water moves from a place with low salt concentrations to one with high concentrations, to level the dilution.

Can plants grow with sea water?

Most plants can tolerate saltwater on their leaves and stems, but they will dehydrate if they drink saltwater from the soil. Even if they don’t dehydrate, they may be poisoned by an excess of salt in their systems. The takeaway is to avoid watering your plants with saltwater if you want them to thrive.

Is sea water a good fertilizer?

Seawater As A Fertilizer



Because seawater is so complex, it can be used carefully on plants to increase the much-needed minerals, yields, and flavor of crops. Many of the chemicals found in seawater are good for plants as a fertilizer.

What plants can live in salt water?

Our top picks for the best salt-tolerant plants:

• Adam’s needle (Yucca filamentosa)
• Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spp.)
• Bee balm (Monarda didyma)
• Daylily (Hemerocallis)
• Gaillardia (Gaillardia x grandiflora)
• Japanese pittosporum (Pittosporum tobira)
• Lantana (Lantana camara)
• Pink muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)

What is the effect of salt water on plants?

Sodium and chloride ions separate when salts are dissolved in water. The dissolved sodium and chloride ions, in high concentrations, can displace other mineral nutrients in the soil. Plants then absorb the chlorine and sodium instead of needed plant nutrients such as potassium and phosphorus, leading to deficiencies.

Is any of the Sahara below sea level?

The Sahara has been pretty depressed lately.



The bottom of the Qattara Depression is 436 feet below sea level, making it Africa’s second lowest point.

Can you dig below sea level?

Yes, it would be a bad solution. So to reduce the sea level by 1m the total area of these depressions needs to be around 5,000,000 km^2. This is around half the total land area of the USA.

Can we irrigate the Sahara?

Sudan, Libya, Chad, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria are some of the other Saharan nations irrigating with fossil water, but the practice is not limited to Africa. In the southern plains of the United States, the Olgallala aquifer is being drained faster than it can be replenished.

Why don’t we pump water from the ocean?

The problem is that the desalination of water requires a lot of energy. Salt dissolves very easily in water, forming strong chemical bonds, and those bonds are difficult to break. Energy and the technology to desalinate water are both expensive, and this means that desalinating water can be pretty costly.

Can you pump water from the sea?

The Yokota Seawater Intake Pump provides suction of seawater from the sea at a distance of 400 meters. The ultimate method of solving water shortages in various countries is the use of the inexhaustible supply of seawater. In this respect, there is a growing trend for the use of seawater.

Can you pump salt water?

If you’re using a water pump in a salt water environment, or are using it specifically to pump salt water, it’s critical to use a water pump that’s made with materials that can resist corrosion. There are factors of both cost and application to consider in choosing the right pump for your salt water application.

Will the Sahara be green?

The Sahara will be green again in 15000 years.

Will the Earth turn into a desert?

It is also predicted that Earth will become a desert planet within a billion years due to the Sun’s increasing luminosity. A study conducted in 2013 concluded that hot desert planets without runaway greenhouse effect can exist in 0.5 AU around Sun-like stars.

Can India turn into a desert?

A new study by scientists from China, Europe and the U.S. has found that within just 50 years, climate conditions in India could become unlivable, with temperatures soaring as high as the Sahara Desert if the emissions of greenhouse gases, or gases which trap heat in the atmosphere, continue to rise at the current pace