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Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

science.org

121–130 of 197 posts

Re: Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

#121
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC These can have thier own host of problems because the 'brine' byproduct doesn't mix well back into the ocean and can settle/pool and create marine dead zones. Although suppose that will be less of a priority if people are thirsty.

The ocean is way too big for removing some drinking water (which is going to end up back in the ocean anyway) to have a material effect on the salt concentration. The problem is strictly local: if the brine produced by the plant is dumped in an area with low flow, it can hang around and affect sea life. If you use a big discharge pipe and put it a decent distance offshore in a current where it can mix effectively, th…

the hard part is what water of different salinity doesn't mix the way you think it should

Re: Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

#122
post #7
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't mean this to sound snarky. I'm genuinely curious where you think the water will go, if not to other places on earth.

We lose atmosphere to space everyday.

I’m sorry my model didn’t account for your 8th order effects. You’re technically correct.

Re: Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

#124

Here in the Netherlands they decided to increase the water level of our lakes by 5cm to handle the drought season this year. Since the amount of snowfall in the Alps was lower than normal. https://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/nieuws/archief/2023/04/hoger-...

It must be nice to live in a country that manages their natural resources with an eye towards long-term sustainability.

If they wouldn't, the Netherlands would literally not exist. Not only are large parts of the country below sea level, there is also the constant threat of flooding via Maas (Meuse) and Rhine. Raising levees is not enough, water management in the Netherlands must always look at the whole country.

Re: Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't Netherlands bound to flood as ocean levels rise?

The Netherlands been claiming land from the sea for centuries and some areas are already well below sea level - I don't think they'll neglect their dykes any time soon.

The Afsluitdijk just got heightened and reinforced. As someone who's biked across it, I'm psyched because now you can bike on the North Sea side - previously, there was only 1 bike path on the Zuiderzee side.

https://theafsluitdijk.com/projects/dike-reinforcement/how/

Re: Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

#126
post #106

Genuine question here. What would be the expected change over the same period? The abstract says 53% of lakes saw declines...does that mean 47% saw no change or gains? If so, that seems pretty close to net stable to me globally. Or frankly what we would expect to see (some gains, some losses) Also, this is stated later in the doc: "Between 1984 and 2015, a loss of 90,000 km2 of permanent water area was observed by sa…

The article also states “climate change and human activities increasingly threaten lakes that store 87% of Earth’s liquid surface fresh water”, but neglects to mention that only 0.3% of freshwater is liquid surface water in the first place. All in all a giant nothing burger, as with so many climate change alarmist “science” nowadays.

https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/sci...

Re: Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

#127
post #106

Genuine question here. What would be the expected change over the same period? The abstract says 53% of lakes saw declines...does that mean 47% saw no change or gains? If so, that seems pretty close to net stable to me globally. Or frankly what we would expect to see (some gains, some losses) Also, this is stated later in the doc: "Between 1984 and 2015, a loss of 90,000 km2 of permanent water area was observed by sa…

The article also states “climate change and human activities increasingly threaten lakes that store 87% of Earth’s liquid surface fresh water”, but neglects to mention that only 0.3% of freshwater is liquid surface water in the first place. All in all a giant nothing burger, as with so many climate change alarmist “science” nowadays. https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/sci...

Because obviously the amount of surface water is completely independent of the amount of subsurface water in aquifers. /s

Re: Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

#128
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Burning anything is never the right answer in a world of climate change. We are scrambling to find ways to capture atmospheric carbon and store it underground and burning garbage is literally the opposite of that.

If handling waste and burying it costs X carbon, and burning it creates Y carbon, and Y is less than X, then burning is better than burying. You'd have to do the math, it's not manifestly obvious that it's not the case (especially once you consider all the transportation involved in sending waste around the country and across the ocean).

On first principles, there's no reason that the cost of transporting trash to the incinerator is any less carbon intensive than transporting trash to a landfill.

Maybe people prefer incinerators in their community over landfills in their community (unclear), but if that's the case, that's a policy decision and not one that seeks to minimize carbon emissions.

Re: Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

#129
The vital role of vegetation is often overlooked - we've significantly reduced forest cover over the past centuries.

Global forest cover loss between 1990 and 2020 was estimated to be around 178 million hectares, representing a reduction of approximately 10% in the total global forest area.

To restore water resources we should prioritize aforestation.

https://ourworldindata.org/land-use#how-has-global-land-use-...

1700 ... 1 billion ha for agriculture

1800 ... 1.35 billion ha

1900 ... 2.54 billion ha

2016 ... 4.93 billion ha (=cca 50% of all habitable lands)

https://ourworldindata.org/land-use

Animal agriculture taking 75% of that.

https://ourworldindata.org/land-use-diets

"Beef is the leading driver of deforestation"

https://ourworldindata.org/drivers-of-deforestation

As Ernst Gotsch says: water is planted (‘Água se planta!’)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_G%C3%B6tsch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biotic_pump

- Evapotranspiration: Vegetation influences the water cycle by releasing moisture into the atmosphere through transpiration, affecting cloud formation and regional rainfall patterns.

- Surface runoff and infiltration: Vegetation intercepts rainfall, slowing down surface runoff and promoting better water infiltration into the soil, which helps mitigate drought conditions.

- Shade and temperature regulation: Vegetation provides shade, lowers surface temperatures, and reduces evaporation rates, potentially alleviating drought intensity.

- Feedback loops: Healthy vegetation enhances soil moisture levels, maintains humidity, and supports water resources, while stressed or absent vegetation can worsen drought conditions.

- Forests and rainfall patterns: Forests contribute to local and regional rainfall by releasing moisture through transpiration, and their removal or degradation can disrupt precipitation, potentially contributing to drought.

Re: Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is where essentially all freshwater comes from.

That’s great and all but how does that help with the issue of that freshwater being depleted? Which is the topic at hand.

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