STARSET_MirrorResearchers propose new structures to harvest untapped source of freshwater
An almost limitless supply of fresh water exists in the form of water vapor above Earth’s oceans, yet remains untapped, researchers said. A new study suggests an investment in new infrastructure capable of harvesting oceanic water vapor as a solution to limited supplies of fresh water in various locations around the world.
研究人员说，地球海洋上方以水蒸气的形式存在着几乎无限的淡水供应，但仍未开发。一项新的研究建议投资于能够收集海洋水蒸气的新基础设施，以解决世界各地淡水供应有限的问题。
The study, led by civil and environmental engineering professor and Prairie Research Institute executive director Praveen Kumar, evaluated 14 water-stressed locations across the globe for the feasibility of a hypothetical structure capable of capturing water vapor from above the ocean and condensing it into fresh water — and do so in a manner that will remain feasible in the face of continued climate change.
这项研究由土木和环境工程教授、草原研究所执行主任普拉文·库马尔(Praveen Kumar)领导，评估了全球14个缺水地区的可行性，以一种能够从海洋上空捕获水蒸气并将其冷凝成淡水的假设结构，并以一种在持续气候变化的情况下仍然可行的方式进行。
Kumar, graduate student Afeefa Rahman and atmospheric sciences professor Francina Dominguez published their findings in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.
库马尔、研究生Afeefa Rahman和大气科学教授Francina Dominguez在《自然科学报告》杂志上发表了他们的发现。
“Water scarcity is a global problem and hits close to home here in the U.S. regarding the sinking water levels in the Colorado River basin, which affects the whole Western U.S.,” Kumar said. “However, in subtropical regions, like the Western U.S., nearby oceans are continuously evaporating water because there is enough solar radiation due to the very little cloud coverage throughout the year.”
库马尔说:“水资源短缺是一个全球性问题，科罗拉多河流域水位不断下降，影响到整个美国西部，这与美国本土息息相关。”“然而，在亚热带地区，如美国西部，附近的海洋不断蒸发水分，因为全年云层覆盖很少，有足够的太阳辐射。”
Previous wastewater recycling, cloud seeding and desalination techniques have met only limited success, the researchers said. Though deployed in some areas across the globe, desalination plants face sustainability issues because of the brine and heavy metal-laden wastewater produced — so much so that California has recently rejected measures to add new desalination plants.
研究人员说，以前的废水回收、云层播种和海水淡化技术只取得了有限的成功。尽管在全球一些地区部署了海水淡化厂，但由于产生的盐水和重金属废水，海水淡化厂面临着可持续性问题，以至于加州最近拒绝了增加新的海水淡化厂的措施。
“Eventually, we will need to find a way to increase the supply of fresh water as conservation and recycled water from existing sources, albeit essential, will not be sufficient to meet human needs. We think our newly proposed method can do that at large scales,” Kumar said.
“最终，我们需要找到一种方法来增加淡水供应，因为现有水源的保护和循环水虽然必不可少，但仍不足以满足人类的需求。我们认为我们新提出的方法可以大规模地做到这一点。”库马尔说。
The researchers performed atmospheric and economic analyses of the placement of hypothetical offshore structures 210 meters in width and 100 meters in height.
研究人员对假定的210米宽、100米高的海上结构物进行了大气和经济分析。
Through their analyses, the researchers concluded that capturing moisture over ocean surfaces is feasible for many water-stressed regions worldwide. The estimated water yield of the proposed structures could provide fresh water for large population centers in the subtropics.
通过分析，研究人员得出结论，在全球许多缺水地区捕捉海洋表面的水分是可行的。据估计，拟建建筑的产水量可以为亚热带地区的大型人口中心提供淡水。
One of the more robust projections of climate change is that dry regions will get drier, and wet areas will get wetter. “The current regions experiencing water scarcity will likely be even drier in the future, exacerbating the problem,” Dominguez said. “And unfortunately, people continue moving to water-limited areas, like the Southwestern U.S.”
气候变化的一个更有力的预测是，干旱地区将变得更干燥，潮湿地区将变得更潮湿。多明格斯说:“目前缺水的地区未来可能会更加干旱，使问题恶化。”不幸的是，人们继续迁移到水资源有限的地区，比如美国西南部。”
However, this projection of increasingly arid conditions favors the new ocean vapor-harvesting technology.
然而，这种日益干旱的情况有利于新的海洋蒸汽收集技术。
“The climate projections show that the oceanic vapor flux will only increase over time, providing even more fresh water supply,” Rahman said. “So, the idea we are proposing will be feasible under climate change. This provides a much needed and effective approach for adaptation to climate change, particularly to vulnerable populations living in arid and semi-arid regions of the world.”
拉赫曼说:“气候预测显示，海洋蒸汽通量只会随着时间的推移而增加，从而提供更多的淡水供应。”“所以，我们提出的想法在气候变化下是可行的。这为适应气候变化提供了急需的有效方法，特别是对生活在世界干旱和半干旱地区的弱势群体而言。”
The researchers said one of the more elegant features of this proposed solution is that it works like the natural water cycle.
研究人员说，这个解决方案的一个更优雅的特点是，它的工作原理就像自然水循环。
“The difference is that we can guide where the evaporated water from the ocean goes,” Dominguez said. “When Praveen approached me with this idea, we both wondered why nobody had thought about it before because it seemed like such an obvious solution. But it hasn’t been done before, and I think it is because researchers are so focused on land-based solutions — but our study shows other options do, in fact, exist.”
多明格斯说:“不同之处在于，我们可以引导海洋蒸发的水流向哪里。”“当普拉文带着这个想法来找我时，我们都在想，为什么以前没有人想到这个问题，因为这似乎是一个显而易见的解决方案。但以前还没有人这样做过，我认为这是因为研究人员太专注于基于陆地的解决方案了，但我们的研究表明，实际上确实存在其他选择。”
The researchers said this study opens the door for novel infrastructure investments that can effectively address the increasing global scarcity of fresh water.
研究人员说，这项研究为新的基础设施投资打开了大门，可以有效地解决全球淡水日益稀缺的问题。
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