Read at : Google Alert – desertification
http://cleantechnica.com/2010/08/30/watering-deserts/
Watering Deserts
Written by Susan Kraemer
The increasing desertification of the planet due to climate change is a serious threat to future humans, so technology that can create water in deserts is arguably one of the more critical technologies that we need to master.
Wacky ideas that purport to solve serious climate issues are a dime a dozen, but ones that have actually proven themselves – by actually working in the real world – are welcome news.
Collaborating with Mitsubishi, the desert state of Oman began a five-year test of a fog collection project, two years ago. The idea is to catch the moisture in sea breezes and trap it in a special mesh that is designed for the purpose, store it in a reservoir, and use it to plant seedlings in the desert.
Suspended perpendicular to incoming sea breezes in the coastal Al Qara mountains, 9-foot tall, 60-foot long mesh nets catch the fog.
The simple device invented by Fogquest is suspended next to a reservoir to hold the captured water. Moisture caught in the mesh drips down to a reservoir holding tank capable of storing 14,000 cubic feet of water.
At two years into successful operation on the largely arid Arabian peninsula, the “fog catcher” is such a concept.
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