Sea Secrets
The sea is a huge store of mineral wealth. All the known chemicals and minerals exist in sea water, some in great amount; yet only common salt, potassium, magnesium, iodine, bromine and a few other substances have been extracted from sea water. We still follow the traditional method of extracting salt from sea water by evaporation. Iodine is obtained from the ashes of sea-weeds. There is also a great reserve of petroleum and natural gas beneath the sea-bed. Off-shore drilling for oil and gas has already proved productive.
Making fresh water by removing salt from sea water is still a very expensive process. If a good method of desalting sea water could be developed, huge sea water could be used for irrigation to transform millions of square kilometers of desert into farm land.
The sea is a huge store of mineral wealth. All the known chemicals and minerals exist in sea water, some in great amount; yet only common salt, potassium, magnesium, iodine, bromine and a few other substances have been extracted from sea water. We still follow the traditional method of extracting salt from sea water by evaporation. Iodine is obtained from the ashes of sea-weeds. There is also a great reserve of petroleum and natural gas beneath the sea-bed. Off-shore drilling for oil and gas has already proved productive.
Making fresh water by removing salt from sea water is still a very expensive process. If a good method of desalting sea water could be developed, huge sea water could be used for irrigation to transform millions of square kilometers of desert into farm land.