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A hidden artificial lake of groundwater more than twice the size of Lake Mead is buried inside the Oregon Cascades , a fresh written report reports .
Scientists find that the underground aquifer have at least 19.4 cubic miles ( 81 cubic kilometers ) of water below the control surface of the mountain mountain chain . The finding could impact both water supply use and scientist ' discernment of volcanic procedure in the region .
The Oregon Cascades hold at least 81 cubic kilometers of water beneath their volcanic rocks, scientists find.
" It is a continental - size lake stored in the sway at the top of the mountains , like a big water tower , " study co - authorLeif Karlstrom , an Earth scientist at the University of Oregon , said in a statement . " That there are similar enceinte volcanic aquifers north of the Columbia Gorge and near Mount Shasta belike make the Cascade Range the largest aquifer of its kind in the earthly concern . "
The Cascade mountain range extends for about 700 miles ( 1,100 kilometer ) from Northern California to British Columbia , Canada , and has been built up by volcanic activity over millions of yr . Within Oregon , the High Cascades , whose volcanic rocks see back 8 million years , is domicile to smooth out side and ongoing volcanic activity , while the older Western Cascades that go out to 45 million years ago is occupy with canyons and vale carved by flowing streams . The investigator used the gradual shift between these two zone to examine how volcanic processes have strike the region over time .
In the field , bring out Jan. 13 in the journalPNAS , the researchers measure how the temperature of rocks in the mountain reach changes with depth . mysterious John Rock tends to be hotter because it ’s under more pressure level and skinny to Earth ’s hot interior , but the squad found several areas where the temperature remain changeless , even as the deepness increase . That entail the rock was being cooled , which they attributed to water permeating the rock .
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" We initially set out to better understand how the Cascade landscape has evolved over time , and how water displace through it , " study co - authorGordon Grant , a hydrologist with the U.S. Forest Service , order in the statement . " But in conducting this introductory research , we discovered important things that citizenry care about : the incredible intensity of water in active storage in the Cascades and also how the movement of urine and the risk posed by volcanoes are connect together . "
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Deep - permeating piddle could affect the types of volcanism observe in the region . When weewee follow in liaison with magma , it speedily evaporates into steam , which can increase the pressure underground and guide to explosive volcanic eruptions .
The urine stored in the aquifer could potentially be a worthful resourcefulness for human consumption , though further research on the impacts of drouth and clime change on the artificial lake will be necessary to properly make out its employment , the researchers wrote .
" This region has been hand a geological gift , but we really are only beginning to understand it , " Grant said in the program line . " If we do n’t have any snow , or if we have a run of high-risk winters where we do n’t get any rainwater , what ’s that going to mean ? Those are the key questions we ’re now having to focus on . "
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