At first coup d’oeil , southeastern Libya calculate like an unforgiving land of sand and free mountains . However , seem closer and you ’ll see cue that thedesertis household to a massive underground oasis .
Images contain by satellites and astronaut onboard the International Space Station ( ISS ) show that Libya ’s Kufrah district is not as bleak as it first seems . Amid the vast swathes of favorable Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin , you could spot foreign rophy and odd patches of green .
These blots are evidence of Libya ’s struggle to stay hydrated . In 1983 , the Libyan drawing card Muammar Gaddafi initiated a colossal civic water full treatment project call theGreat Man - Made River ( GMMR ) . Consisting of a vast mesh of underground pipe , it ’s consider to be the world ’s largest irrigation project and provide the legal age of all freshwater used in Libya .
Libya’s Kufrah District was imaged on 21 December 2024. Look very closely to the right of the image and you may see some green.Image credit: MODIS/NASA
The piddle comes from the man ’s largest fossil water aquifer system , get laid as the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System . It was left behind some 10,000 years ago when this region was asurprisingly lush landscapeof rivers , lakes , and rain .
The aquifer is around 2 million straight kilometers ( 772,204 square mil ) in size and lie beneath northward - western Sudan , northeast Chad , southeastern Libya , and much of Egypt . It ’s an priceless resource for these countries , which constantly battle with arid condition .
While much of the organization is underground , mental imagery from low - ground orbit register sign of its presence . As explained byESA , artificial satellite imagery demonstrate large circles embedded in the Al Kufrah Oasis , each of which has a diam of nearly 1 km ( 0.6 mil ) . Described as “ Libya ’s Circles of Life ” , the circles are the product of numerous sprinkler that use water from the fossil aquifer to irrigate the land , reserve crop to grow .
The town of Al Jawf is like an oasis in the desert, literally.Image credit: ISS/NASA NASA Earth Observatory
The fruit of this labor are also seeable from the sky . As perNASA Earth Observatory , more recent pic take from the ISS show that a plot of ground of green can be seen among the extensive sands of the Kufrah district .
This is Al Jawf , a Ithiel Town that owe much of its existence to the ancient aquifer that it sits on top of . Zoom into the photograph and you ’ll see this small but significant settlement is covered in farms , all of which are irrigated by piss from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System .
Libya , however , still has problems with its piddle supply . piss scarcityhas been one of the greatest challenges facing Libya in late chronicle and it ranks as the most water - emphasize country in North Africa . Now , it has to address these problems against the backdrop of corruption , conflict , andclimate change .
