Fiery Cross Island, which is surrounded by the sea, why does it have fresh water?

As the largest island and reef controlled by our country in the Nansha region, Fiery Cross Island is of great strategic significance, but because the sea water is salty and cannot be drunk directly, it is difficult for Fiery Cross Island to meet the living conditions of human beings. Why is Fiery Cross Island able to form fresh water underground in such a short period of time?

Fiery Cross Island is blessed with abundant rainfall, which not only brings plenty of fresh water to the island**, but also quickly washes away the salt content of the island's land. Because the material of Fiery Cross Island is seabed gravel, which has a large amount of salt, the salt is quickly washed away by the rain, providing conditions for the formation of underground freshwater resources on the island. <>

Many of the islands and reefs are too small to store enough rainwater, but Fiery Cross Island is close to square kilometers and is sufficient to store rainwater. Fiery Cross Island has a tropical maritime climate characterized by high temperatures and high rainfall. This makes the evaporation of seawater also very fast, after the seawater evaporates, the water vapor condenses into rainwater in the air clouds and then falls to the ground, and so on repeatedly, so that a large amount of fresh water is constantly stored underground.

The soil of Fiery Cross Island is gravel, so a large amount of precipitation seeps into the ground, which inevitably squeezes the salt water underground and "squeezes" it into the sea. Through continuous rainfall and continuous infiltration, there will be more and more fresh groundwater. The boundary between freshwater and brackish water in the ground will continue from the center of the island to the seashore, eventually reaching a balance and forming a freshwater area.

Of course, if the island's groundwater is continuously extracted, the boundary between freshwater and saltwater will also be pushed towards the center of the island to find a new balance. The unique geological structure creates different ecosystems, and this coral reef can form a circular system with its unique pore geological structure, which can be said to be the right place at the right time and place to provide a very important role for the island's freshwater resources. <

The discovery of fresh water resources on Fiery Cross Island is also of great significance, not only in terms of people's livelihood construction, but we all know that once fresh water resources are found on the island, it means that the island is a natural island.

Rainfall. Fresh water occurs when the seawater evaporates into water vapor, which filters out the salt in the seawater and falls into Fiery Cross Island in the form of rainfall.

The fresh water of the islands is deposited in the aquifer after further infiltration due to rainwater intrusion into the surface, and some landmasses are seawater at the bottom and fresh water at the deep level.

Fiery Cross Island is an artificially constructed reef, and when it rains, the water stored on the surface is fresh water, and the evaporation of seawater returns rainwater to the surface, so the cycle is endless.

Why is Fiery Cross Island in the South China Sea surrounded by the sea on all sides, and there is still fresh water underground, scientists explain it this way!

Everyone understands that in the case of sailing on the deep sea, a fleet is very necessary for fresh water, after all, the sea water is not only inedible, and if forced to drink the seawater, it will continue to dry out of the body and the rest of the more serious conditions, so if there is a fresh water resource in the deep sea, then it will be very precious, but everyone knows that there are a large number of people stationed in our country in the South China Sea to protect the security of our borders, if they slack off, Then it is very likely that the opponent will unknowingly jump over our defenses from the water.

As everyone knows, as long as some people are stationed there, there must be all kinds of daily life resources, including very precious fresh water, but everyone has a considerable discovery, what kind of island is in the South China Sea, it is surrounded by the sea, but the bottom of the island has a lot of fresh water resources that can be used. Many friends are likely to think it is strange, why is there such a treasure storing freshwater resources in the deep sea? How could it store such precious fresh water in such a vast deep-sea core?

In fact, the name of this freshwater storage area is Fiery Cross Island, and it is self-evident that it is an island that is relatively hot all year round. I think it's a medium-sized coral reef island, and its key components are the carcasses of polyps and other microorganisms, some of which resemble the Maldivian archipelago. And here on the island, there is a very unique geological structure that can store fresh water in its interior, and the key is called the freshwater lens, which is called a unique cycle.

When precipitation is abundant, precipitation falls on the island and seeps into its rock formations, and the key to the bottom of the coral reef island is a number of colorful holes. There is a difference in the permeability of seawater and freshwater, in other words, the middle layer is separated so that the next layer is covered with seawater, while the top layer is filled with fresh water in precipitation. In this way, scarce freshwater resources can be obtained according to the method of finding freshwater layers.

The island is also very good because of the temperate monsoon climate, and it has an abundance of rainfall, in other words, if you can deposit fresh water normally during the rainy season, then there will be a large amount of fresh water that can be stored after each rainy season. At the same time, in order to build such a freshwater lens, the total width of the island must be more than 270 meters, so everyone is constantly rebuilding the island, so that he can meet the requirements of producing freshwater lenses, and then can deposit freshwater resources more conveniently. But while it is possible to collect fresh water, it is understood that precipitation has its limits and that there are many places where fresh water is needed, so even such a treasure must be effectively planned and applied.

It is because the living environment around this island is different, and the material structure of this island is also different, so there is fresh water in the ground of the island.

This is due to the special geographical location of the local area. There will be some rainy seasons in the area, and some fresh water will be stored.

Because under the satellite view, the island itself has water, and then it can create itself, which is the magic of nature, and slowly through its own circulation to produce this kind of fresh water is very magical.

The main reason is that Fiery Cross Island has relatively advanced seawater desalination technology, so the energy source continues to produce fresh water.

Fiery Cross Island, which is in the satellite view, is surrounded by sea water on all sides. However, it is constantly producing its own fresh water because of its own ecosystem.

According to common sense, there will be no freshwater resources in the vicinity of artificial islands, and this situation is mainly due to "freshwater lenses". Most of the island's groundwater floats on top of the saltwater, like a "transparent mirror". Because there is a large difference in the density of brackish and fresh water, there is a theory of underground freshwater resources in the vicinity of the island.

In addition, the reason for the emergence of freshwater resources is also due to the high temperature environment in which seawater is distilled to form fresh water and stored underground. Secondly, it has a tropical climate and has a lot of rain, so when it rains, it will also penetrate into the lower layers of the earth's surface.

In 2016, Chinese geological prospectors found groundwater resources in many places on Fiery Cross Island, which not only have large reserves, but also can be directly drunk. Since August 2014, large-scale land reclamation has begun. By April 2015, Fiery Cross Island had been initially built into an artificial island of square kilometers.

In less than a year, fresh water resources were discovered on the island, which is a miracle of nature, or"Infrastructure Maniacs"Magic? Before this question, let's take a look at the construction of Fiery Cross Island.

<> Fiery Cross Reef is located in the middle of the international shipping lanes of the South China Sea, only 400 kilometers away from Wan'an Bank, which shows its strategic position. Burnt Reef is a large single atoll, about 26 kilometers long and 7 kilometers wide, with a total reef area of 108 square kilometers. The Fire Cross Reef is oval in shape with a lagoon in the middle, with an area of 55 square kilometers and an average water depth of 14 to 40 meters.

The lagoon divides the entire reef flat into two areas, southwest and northeast. In the southwest, reefs with an area of about square kilometres are the most suitable for reclamation.

In August 2014, China began a large-scale sand-blowing reclamation project in the southwest corner of Longxugou. In just 8 months, a square kilometer of artificial reefs appeared out of thin air. Since then, an airport, a port, a hospital and a post office have been built on the island.

In addition to the garrison, the island's population has grown to nearly 1,000 people, new residential buildings are neat and beautiful, and the island has been transformed from a submerged reef into a modern island town. Freshwater lenses are the main cause of the emergence of fresh water in the ground within just one year of the island's existence. "Freshwater lenses"It is a special geological formation, mostly formed on coral reef islands.

Fire Cross Reef was originally an underwater coral reef that was formed over a long period of time by corals and other reef-building organisms. The bottom of the coral island is ancient dissolved limestone, and the karst caves and pores above are well developed, with strong permeability, and seawater is easy to pass through, and cannot form freshwater lenses; With the construction of artificial reefs, the dredgers concentrated the surrounding broken corals and shallow rock sand, forming a low permeable layer covering the ancient limestone layer, the sea water is not easy to penetrate, but the rainwater stored on the surface is easy to retain, and has the ability to form"Freshwater lenses"The basic conditions.

1.The appearance of these freshwater is closely related to the geological structure of Fiery Cross Island itself, for coral geological islands and reefs, which are equivalent to natural rainwater collectors, the precipitation in the rainy season will seep into the ground and collect in the ground, due to the difference in the density of freshwater and seawater, the so-called freshwater lens unique to the island is formed, that is, the freshwater floats on the saltwater water, and there is an obvious freshwater-saltwater interface.

2.These valuable freshwater resources can meet the drinking and living water of the islanders, but this freshwater resources are also relatively limited, and the environment is relatively fragile, and this freshwater resources have not been exploited at present.

It is related to the geological structure of Fiery Cross Island, and the coral geology of the island reef, can effectively collect natural rainwater, precipitation seeps into the surface, and then collects on the surface Due to the difference in the density of seawater, fresh water will be formed, so fresh water will appear.

It may be because the rain has left some fresh water underground, but it is now a limited renewable resource, so there is no plan to mine it at present, but it will also have a very positive impact on the lives of the officers and soldiers stationed there.

Fiery Cross IslandReclamation should not continue. The reason why it cannot be filled in is that too much filling will damage the marine ecological environment and is not conducive to the protection of marine biodiversity in the South China Sea. Fiery Cross Reef is the Spratly Islands.

The large atoll, which covers an area of 108 square kilometers, surpasses some of the six reefs in the Spratlys, where China established UNESCO in 1988.

of the Marine Observatory. By the beginning of 2015, more than 5 million hydrometeorological observation data in the Nansha Sea area had been obtained, providing reliable navigational hydrometeorological support for Chinese and foreign vessels passing through the South China Sea.

Introduction to Fiery Cross Island

From August 2014 to April 2015, China completed the reclamation of sand from the southwest of Fiery Cross Reef at low tide.

operation, Yonglu covers an area of square kilometers, and has built Fiery Cross Island Airport, Fiery Cross Hospital, etc. Fiery Cross Island will be China's largest material distribution center in Nansha, and it will need long-range large transport aircraft. Fiery Cross Island is an artificial island on the jujube mold plate of the southwest reef of Fiery Cross Reef, and is the abbreviation of the southwest reef of Fiery Cross Reef.

It is the first people's station in Nansha District, Sansha City. In 2015, Fiery Cross Reef was second only to Mischief Reef in terms of land stool area.

and Subi Reef, which is the third defeated island of the Nansha Islands. Fiery Cross Reef has a tropical maritime monsoon climate with an average monthly temperature of 25 to 29 and average annual rainfall.

Approx. 2800 mm. The salt content of the air is higher than that of ordinary seashores.

Fiery Cross Island is the largest island controlled by our country in the Spratlys, because the sea water is salty and cannot be used by people, so Fiery Cross Island cannot meet the conditions of human habitationIn 2016, the military sent engineers and technicians to Fiery Cross Island to explore groundwater resourcesIt was found that there is groundwater in 11 places, which not only has a large amount of water storage, but also has good water quality, which can be directly drunk, which completely solves the problem of domestic water for the residents of the island.

The island's fresh water is rainwater that soaks into the surface and remains in the aquifer when it encounters an aquiferThere are also some lands with shallow seawater and deep freshwater, and the biggest livelihood problems are solved. As early as the reclamation of reefs, a large freshwater lake has been built, which provides a strong logistical support for the subsequent construction of islands and reefs and tourism development. Fiery Cross Island has been built into a large-scale material distribution center, and Mischief Reef has been built into a large-scale aquatic product base, which together with Subi Reef will make Nansha as solid as a rock and form a strategic iron triangle with Woody Island and Scarborough Shoal, so that the South China Sea will have no worries.

The Spratly Islands, where Fiery Cross Island is located, have a tropical maritime monsoon climateThis determines that the temperature here is high, and there are more windy times. The higher the temperature, the stronger the wind, and the faster the sea water evaporates. This seawater evaporates and becomes a large amount of water vapor.

The water vapor then falls to the ground, forming rain. As a result, Fiery Cross Island receives abundant rainfall. In addition, in the process of seawater evaporation, the salt in seawater cannot evaporate into the air due to the relatively stable nature of salt molecules.

Therefore, the rain on Fiery Cross Island is fresh water without salt. These are the prerequisites for the emergence of a large amount of fresh water on Fiery Cross Island.

Freshwater is due to the unique geological structure of Fiery Cross IslandFiery Cross Island is a coral reef formed by the accumulation of remains of polyps and other reef-building organismsLike the Great Barrier Reef, the Maldives archipelago is a famous coral island, and the coral island reef has a unique pore geological structure, which will form a very special ecological circulation system - coral island reef freshwater lens.