Dubai - Sea of fresh water

Dubai - As summer temperatures rise and water shortages take hold, help may be at hand with the news that the desert could be harbouring deep streams and lakes. Recent satellite images from outer space reveal possible large groundwater reserves under the Arabian Desert. But yesterday environmentalists in the region warned that while the discovery could be fantastic news for the Middle East, a thorough action plan would need to be devised to ensure the water lasts for generations to come.

Friends of the Earth Middle East’s project director Abdel Rahman Sultan said: “This is good news of course in a region where water is more precious than oil, it’s a source of life. “But what is important is how we use this water. Are we going to use this for agricultural or domestic use? We must think of the next generation and what we will leave to them in 50 to 100 years. A masterplan is now needed to maintain any reserves.”

News of the discovery was delivered by Apollo Space Programme veteran Dr Farouk El-Baz at a lecture in Dubai organised by the Emirates Environmental Group earlier this week. Dr El-Baz, currently research professor and director of the Centre for Remote Sensing at Boston University, said images from outer space reveal there may well be large groundwater reserves under some of the driest places on Earth.

“Space images reveal the Arabian Desert resulted from the alternation of wet and dry climate cycles, with the last wet cycle having ended 5,000 years ago,” he said. “Radar images of Arab deserts have revealed numerous courses of rivers and streams that led to depressions where lakes formed."