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Seawater/Saline Agriculture for Energy, Warming, Water, Rainfall, Land, Food and MineralsThe combination of the incipient demise of cheap oil and increasing evidence of Global Warming due to anthropogenic fossil carbon release has reinvigorated the need for and efforts on Renewable energy sources, especially for transportation applications. Biomass/Bio-diesel appears to have many benefits compared to Hydrogen, the only other major renewable transportation fuel candidate. Biomass Production is currently limited by available arable land and fresh water. Halophyte Plants and seawater irrigation proffer a wholly new biomass production mantra using wastelands and very plentiful seawater. Such an approach addresses many-to-most of the major emerging Societal Problems including Land, Water, Food, Warming and Energy. For many reasons, including seawater agriculture, portions of the Sahara appear to be viable candidates for future Biomass Production. The apparent nonlinearity between vegetation cover and atmospheric conditions over North Africa necessitates serious coupled boundary layer Meteorology and Global Circulation Modeling to ensure that this form of Terra Forming is Favorable and to avoid adverse Unintended Consequences.
Document ID
20060010538
Acquisition Source
Langley Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Bushnell, Dennis
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2006
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Meeting Information
Meeting: U.S.-Egypt Workshop on Predictive Methodologies for Global Weather Related Disasters
Location: Cairo
Country: Egypt
Start Date: March 13, 2006
End Date: March 15, 2006
Funding Number(s)
WBS: WBS 858.08.07.05
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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