What is fossil water?
Q: What is fossil water?
A: Fossil water or palaeowater is ancient water that has been kept undisturbed in an aquifer or under ice for millions of years.
Q: What types of locations can contain fossil water?
A: Fossil water can be found in groundwater aquifers or lakes under ice, such as Antarctica's Lake Vostok. It may also exist on other planets.
Q: How does UNESCO define fossil groundwater?
A: UNESCO defines fossil groundwater as water that infiltrated usually millennia ago, under different climatic conditions from the present and has been stored underground since then.
Q: How is the age of water in aquifers estimated?
A: The age of water in aquifers is estimated using isotopes.
Q: How deep can some aquifers be?
A: Some aquifers can be hundreds of meters deep and underlie vast areas of land.
Q: Is research on all aquifers complete?
A: No, research on many aquifers is still lacking or disputed, especially with regard to the age of the water and its behavior inside the aquifer.
Q: What is happening to the knowledge base and research techniques regarding fossil water?
A: The scientific knowledge base on fossil water is growing, and research techniques in the field are developing quickly.
