"Water mining" redirects here. For extraterrestrial water and ice mining, see In situ resource utilization § Water.
Fossil water, fossil groundwater, or paleowater is an ancient body of water that has been contained in some undisturbed space, typically groundwater in an aquifer, for millennia. Other types of fossil water can include subglacial lakes, such as Antarctica's Lake Vostok. UNESCO defines fossil groundwater as "water that infiltrated usually millennia ago and often under climatic conditions different from the present, and that has been stored underground since that time."[1]
Determining the time since water infiltrated usually involves analyzing isotopic signatures. Determining "fossil" status—whether or not that particular water has occupied that particular space since the distant past—involves modeling the flow, recharge, and losses of aquifers, which can involve significant uncertainty. Some aquifers are hundreds of meters deep and underlie vast areas of land. Research techniques in the field are developing quickly and the scientific knowledge base is growing. In the cases of many aquifers, research is lacking or disputed as to the age of the water and the behavior of the water inside the aquifer.[2][3]
^"Non-renewable groundwater resources: a guidebook on socially-sustainable management for water-policy makers; 2006". unesco.org. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
^"Deep Water: Researchers find more below than previously thought". News. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
^McIntosh, Jennifer C.; Ferguson, Grant (2021-03-16). "Deep Meteoric Water Circulation in Earth's Crust". Geophysical Research Letters. 48 (5). Bibcode:2021GeoRL..4890461M. doi:10.1029/2020GL090461. ISSN 0094-8276.
Fossilwater, fossil groundwater, or paleowater is an ancient body of water that has been contained in some undisturbed space, typically groundwater in...
A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants...
A fossil (from Classical Latin fossilis, lit. 'obtained by digging') is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past...
well. If water reaches the ground surface under the natural pressure of the aquifer, the well is termed a flowing artesian well. Fossilwater aquifers...
living fossil is an extant taxon that phenotypically resembles related species known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the...
overdrafting and the pumping of fossilwater increase the total amount of water in the hydrosphere. This is because the water that was originally in the ground...
to be a water lily, but is now recognized to be a highly modified eudicot in its own family Nelumbonaceae of the order Proteales. Several fossil species...
A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a life form that exhibits traits common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group...
niche applications. A non-sustainable alternative is using so-called "fossilwater" from underground aquifers. As some of those aquifers formed hundreds...
intermittent saturation", wherein the water table will fluctuate in response to climatic conditions. Fossilwater is groundwater that has remained in an...
structure of the stem tissue may be partially retained. Unlike other plant fossils, which are typically impressions or compressions, petrified wood is a three-dimensional...
Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) is the world's largest known fossilwater aquifer system. It is located underground in the Eastern end of the Sahara...
flue gas stacks is this water vapor, forming a cloud as it contacts cool air. A typical flue gas from the combustion of fossil fuels contains very small...
from the 72 °F (22 °C) water from the springs, creates travertine dams and deposits for several miles downstream. The Fossil Creek system is the fourth...
A trace fossil, also known as an ichnofossil ( /ˈɪknoʊfɒsɪl/; from Greek: ἴχνος ikhnos "trace, track"), is a fossil record of biological activity by lifeforms...
Fossil collecting (sometimes, in a non-scientific sense, fossil hunting) is the collection of fossils for scientific study, hobby, or profit. Fossil collecting...
A fossil fuel power station is a thermal power station which burns a fossil fuel, such as coal or natural gas, to produce electricity. Fossil fuel power...
A polystrate fossil is a fossil of a single organism (such as a tree trunk) that extends through more than one geological stratum. The word polystrate...
by digging tunnels far into the mountains flanking the valley to tap fossilwater and bring it to their fields. The Garamantes grew populous and strong...
which fell into Fossil Falls. Water accelerates as it moves past the rocks. The relatively still water ahead forced the moving water to slow down and...
fossil record. The ancient Greek philosopher Xenophanes (570–480 BCE) concluded from fossil sea shells that some areas of land were once under water....
to resources such as water originally, since water is a renewable resource. Some forms of water, however, such as fossilwater, exhibit similar characteristics...
fossil track or ichnite (Greek "ιχνιον" (ichnion) – a track, trace or footstep) is a fossilized footprint. This is a type of trace fossil. A fossil trackway...
Fossil preparation is a complex of tasks that can include excavating, revealing, conserving, and replicating the ancient remains and traces of organisms...
water level or sea level, or because of a shift in terrain elevation. It is often present as a sediment layer or terrace, with beach-related fossils and...
groundwater that is closely associated with surface water, and deep groundwater in an aquifer (called "fossilwater" if it infiltrated into the ground millennia...
Fossil fuel divestment or fossil fuel divestment and investment in climate solutions is an attempt to reduce climate change by exerting social, political...
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