Research to solve desert water shortage   

地下水深循环理论成功预测水源地 沙漠找水不再难

(ECNS) -- Successful exploration of water resources in the Alxa Right Banner county of Inner Mongolia has proved to be a breakthrough for local groundwater detection programs. 

Chen Jiansheng, professor of Geo-Information and Engineering at Hohai University in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, alongside his research team, has been studying circulatory groundwater systems for a while.

After several years of research and field experiments, they proposed a theory published in Nature magazine stating that area water seeped up from a vast underground reservoir replenished by snow melting on distant mountains.

Research predicted that groundwater in Badain Jaran Desert (the third largest arid region in China) could solve shortages among local residents.

To apply this theory in practice, researchers explored eight wells across Inner Mongolia, four of which have since met standards as prescribed by National Drinking Water Quality, according to isotope and other chemical analysis.

The groundwater exploration program is set to cause little impact on the environment once underway and is awaiting approval, Science and Technology Daily reported.