One would never imagine that huge volumes of freshwater exist under the saline ocean. In the 1960s, says a media report, the U.S. Geological Survey drilled boreholes off the New Jersey coast and unexpectedly struck freshwater. Similarly, with time, a team of scientists from Vietnam and even in other countries have discovered underwater sources of fresh water. For example, a river under the sea was discovered at the bottom of the Black Sea. This river appears to be over a 100 feet deep and has a flow rate of about four miles per hour; about 22,000 cubic meters of water passes through this particular channel. It would count among one of the largest rivers in the world when compared to land-based rivers, say media links. This makes one thing certain: there is scientific evidence of rivers under the sea.
Statistics show that the total volume of water on earth is estimated at 1.386 billion km3, where 97.5% is salt water and 2.5% freshwater. Out of this freshwater, only 0.3% is in liquid form on the surface, which means that the rest of the freshwater is underground, including on or under the ocean bed.
Considering that freshwater is a depleting resource, countries will begin exploring for and exploiting freshwater from above or under their ocean bed, within their maritime zones. Eventually, countries will expand exploration beyond their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), into what is commonly known as the “Area”, which is covered under Part XI of the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, 1982 (UNCLOS). The “Area” under UNCLOS is defined as the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction and is referred to as the common heritage of mankind. This means that it is available for everyone’s use and benefit, keeping in mind the future generations.
