US EditionScientists Confirm Vast Freshwater Aquifer Beneath North Atlantic
Expedition 501 extracted nearly 50,000 liters of fresh water samples, suggesting a supply that could meet New York City's needs for 800 years, pending environmental impact studies.
- In 2025, a major international research initiative funded with $25 million and supported by U.S. and European organizations drilled beneath the saltwater off Cape Cod, uncovering a vast freshwater aquifer extending from New Jersey to Maine.
- This discovery followed a nearly 50-year-old drilling that originally found fresh water while searching for minerals and hydrocarbons, prompting renewed research this summer.
- The aquifer stretches from New Jersey to Maine and yielded nearly 13,209 gallons of fresh water samples, which scientists will analyze to determine their origin and age.
- Brandon Dugan, Expedition 501's co-chief scientist, called the four parts per thousand finding a "eureka moment" and emphasized the need to explore all water sources as demand grows.
- Experts warned that pumping undersea groundwater could disrupt ecosystems and cause unforeseen effects, underlining the need to balance water extraction with environmental concerns.
62 Articles
62 Articles
Researchers have confirmed the presence of a vast reservoir of fresh water deep beneath the seabed off the coast of Cape Cod, North America. The first-of-its-kind drilling operation extracted samples of what appears to be fresh water this year. Experts plan to continue studying the water and sediment samples to determine how old the water is, what organisms live in it, and whether it is a renewable resource that could one day quench the growing …
First-of-its-kind study finds 'secret fresh water' that may stretch from New Jersey to Maine
“We need to look for every possibility we have to find more water for society,” says Brandon Dugan, the expedition's co-chief scientist, from the Colorado School of Mines.
Fresh water under ocean raises hope for a thirsty world
ABOARD LIFTBOAT ROBERT, North Atlantic — Deep in Earth's past, an icy landscape became a seascape as the ice melted and the oceans rose off what is now the northeastern United States. Nearly 50 years ago, a U.S. government ship…
In the depths of the Earth’s geological past, a frozen landscape became a marine landscape as the ice melted and the oceans rose up in front of what is now the northeast of the United States. Nearly 50 years ago, a U.S. government ship looking for minerals and hydrocarbons in the area pierced the seabed to see what it found. It discovered, among other things, drops to drink under the salty depths: fresh water. This summer, a global research expe…
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