This summer scientists drilled deep below the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of northeastern US and tapped into a huge, mysterious reservoir of freshwater — what they discovered could have big implications for a world grappling with an increasingly severe water crisis.
The existence of freshwater beneath the Atlantic has been known for decades, but it had remained virtually unexplored. In the 1960s and 70s, scientific expeditions and companies drilling the ocean for resources such as oil would sometimes hit fresh water.
Then, in 2019, scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Columbia University announced a “surprising discovery.” Using electromagnetic waves, they had mapped a gigantic swath of fresh water below the ocean, stretching along the shore from Massachusetts to New Jersey, and possibly farther
It appears to be the largest such formation yet found in the world,” the scientists said in a statement at the time.
It raised big questions: how did it get there? How old is the water? Is it being replenished? And, importantly: Could coastal aquifers like this provide a new freshwater resource for a thirsty world? The vast reservoir off the US coast is just one of many believed to be hidden under the world’s oceans.
A team of international scientists, part of a project called Expedition 501, decided to look for answers — that meant drilling directly into the aquifer.
In May, they set sail from Bridgeport, Connecticut, on a ship equipped with a drilling rig. They spent three months offshore, probing between around 1,000 to 1,300 feet beneath the sea floor at different locations to pull up sediments and water samples.
