Huge Water Reserves Discovered Beneath Desert in China

Geologists have discovered two large water sources beneath China's largest desert. The groundwater was found as part of an exploration project underway in the Taklamakan Desert in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, reports the South China Morning Post.

Large-scale greening and desertification-control efforts are currently underway in this arid region. One of the new water sources was found south of the Taklamakan — the world's second most shifting sand dune system — near Andir village in Minfeng County, while the second was discovered in the southern part of Mazartagh, deep within the desert.

As part of the project, scientists set up a special testing station for using saline water. The salt content in this water is higher than that of ordinary drinking water but lower than seawater. It is intended to be used for irrigating crops along the desert's edges and preventing sand movement.

For reference: the Taklamakan Desert (whose name means "abandoned place") covers an area of 337,600 square kilometers, nearly equal in size to Germany. Due to its shifting sand dunes and extremely harsh climate, the desert earned the nickname "Sea of Death" among local residents. However, the name "sea" later proved fitting: in 2015, a vast hidden ocean was discovered beneath the desert floor. The volume of water here exceeds the combined water volume of North America's five Great Lakes.

To prevent sandstorms and protect local infrastructure, a massive green belt stretching 3,050 kilometers — made up of trees, shrubs, and solar panels — has been built around the desert.