Scientists have discovered a lake under the ocean holding enough freshwater to fill 1 billion swimming pools.
It’s believed to be the biggest known undersea freshwater aquifer on Earth.
The huge aquifer contains at least 2800 cubic kilometers of mostly freshwater and is in the Atlantic Ocean off New York, US.
The team believes this aquifer, which is contained within a continental shelf, could be one of many like it around the world.
ALSO READ: Here’s how your brain process colour and shape
If they are right, these massive freshwater reserves could help provide water needed by the world’s growing population.
The UN estimates there will be 9.7 billion people living on Earth by 2050.
Countries including India are already suffering major shortages — with the Indian city of Chennai already running dry.
At least 21 cities in India are expected to run out of groundwater by 2020, with 100 million people to be affected.
The researchers were confident they would find some undersea freshwater, but were surprised by how much they found.
It’s believed the water in the aquifer is from ice that melted after the last ice age 15,000 to 20,000 years ago that was then trapped in rock
It’s possible the aquifer is also being fed by run-off from the land. The aquifer spans at least 350km off the US Atlantic coast.
Drilling deep below the ocean in the 1970s in this area found that there was freshwater under the sea. But those tests only told scientists there was water at the exact places that were drilled.
The scientists measure and look at the energy waves that bounce back. Energy waves that come back from hitting water are different to energy waves that come back from hitting rock.