Scientists discover massive underground river 13,000 feet beneath the Amazon

[Judi Lynn]

Source: ENN

Published August 26, 2011 09:13 AM
Scientists discover massive underground river 13,000 feet beneath the Amazon

Researchers at Brazil's National Observatory have discovered evidence of a massive underground river flowing deep beneath the Amazon River, reports the AFP.

Presenting this week at the 12th International Congress of the Brazilian Geophysical Society in Rio de Janeiro, Elizabeth Tavares Pimentel reported the existence of a 6,000-kilometer-long (3,700-mile) river flowing some 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) under the Amazon.

Like the Amazon, the river flows west to east, but is considerably wider (200-400 kilometers) and moves at only a fraction of the speed of the giant surface river. The hidden river — dubbed the Hamza after Pimentel's supervisor Valiya Hamza — discharges into the Atlantic deep underground.

"It is likely that this river is responsible for the low level of salinity in the waters around the mouth of the Amazon," said a statement released by the National Observatory.

Read more: http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/43156?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EnvironmentalNewsNetwork+%28Environmental+News+Network%29

[RT Atlanta]

1. Awesome!

Mother Earth continues to amaze with her surprises. Thank you for sharing.

One Love!

[snooper2]

2. I say start to develop that area...

:)

I'll open a White Castle where you can have belly bombers then go deep DEEP river diving :P

[Tikki]

8. I believe the Silurians beat you too it...

The Silurians have been vacationing along it's shores for, like, forever..:)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_and_the_Silurians


Tikki

[snooper2]

11. Shit, I forgot about that, and they put up a mean fight

[robinlynne]

43. and the paper companies! for real.

[Chipper Chat]

40. Halliburton has a no bid contract to build a pipeline for Dasani (Coca-cola)

Dick Cheney will head up the task force.

[phusion]

3. hmm...

Scientists discover groundwater exists under the Amazon? Flowing aquifer? Cool, but seems a bit like a publicity stunt.

[burrowowl]

4. Fascinating!

[WhiteTara]

5. Thank you for your wonderful posts.

:hi: I always learn something new.

[Desertrose]

6. Very cool...thanks for posting this.

So much we don't know about our planet......

[Corruption Winz]

7. That's truly incredible...

I wonder what the fishing is like....

[Roland99]

9. How long until the BFEE tries to tap into it from its land holdings in Colombia

;-)

[patrice]

16. I'm hoping it isn't near the property that they bought down there in '04-'05 (?)

There was talk that it borders on property that was purchased by Rev. Moon.

[lunasun]

28. wondering too if the BFEE knew about the underground source

supposedly bought near lagrest water table at the time......

[robinlynne]

44. paraguay is nowhere near the Amazon. same continent, opposite ends!

sort of like florida and california...slightly further though.

[Richard D]

21. Venezuela, no?

[robinlynne]

45. Paraguay, a tiny country in between brazil and argentina

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. Very, very cool.

[hugo_from_TN]

12. What an incredible suck-up!

Naming the new underground river after her supervisor. :rofl:

[AlbertCat]

13. Naming the new underground river after her supervisor.

Really.

What's wrong with the River Styx?

[tcaudilllg]

47. Absolutely. Total suck-up.

I'll bet the name doesn't stick.

[KansDem]

14. I'd bet this guy isn't happy!

You mean, there might be another one besides me?

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

35. Of course Fred Thomson's not happy....

...his '08 bid for the Rethug nomination was an ill-conceived joke.

But I still say he's entitled to a little privacy in his own backyard pool.

[classof56]

51. Oooh--Creature from the Black Lagoon!

Back when horror movies were fun! I once knew the son of the actor who played the ship captain in the movie. Not relevant to anything, I know, just a little blast from the past for me.

:hi:

[Enthusiast]

15. We must find a way to

fuck this river up!

Do I really need the sarcasm thingie?

[ooglymoogly]

23. funny nt

[Lucinda]

17. Very cool. KNR

:hi: Thank you!

[jzodda]

18. how long before the exploiters get to it

I guess within 5 years they will destroy it somehow.

[DesertFlower]

19. wow!

[AsahinaKimi]

20. I could see a Jules Vernes-type book written about this..

A Science team go to explore it, deep below,...monster sized piranha, extinct dinosaurs, giant mushrooms the size of a house, gold deposits guarded by Giant Pythons... It would make quite a read, and a great movie.

Its too bad Michael Crichton is gone... :(

[CubicleGuy]

22. Didn't Arthur Conan Doyle...

... write "The Lost World"?

Bet there's huge caves and long lost dinosaurs living down there!

[ooglymoogly]

24. Deeply fascinating...npi.

so that means it empties into the ocean at least 13000ft. Will be interesting to see where that is and what life if growing there....that's at least two miles down unless it is forced upward toward the end.

The wonders of this earth, that are left untouched or relatively untouched and unexplored; are truly fascinating. I would put what comes next, if this is true,equal to a trip to the moon.

I seem to remember, about 30 years back, somewhat the same revelations of a river deep beneath the Nile and considerably larger, something like 10 times, but then but much later, have not found any references to it. Not speaking of where the blue and white Nile go underground for a distance just below Khartoum but then reappears above ground before lake Nasser. The mention then was of a subterranean river far beneath the Nile something like 1o times as large, that emptied into the seabed. Does anybody else remember that.

[LetTimmySmoke]

25. Quick Quick we gotta pollute this thing stat! There are profits to be had!

[Dirigo]

26. Massive River Eyed By Polluting Corporations

I can't wait for the freaking corporations to conjure up some scheme to drill a pilot hole 13,000 feet below the Amazon and start sending in ships the size of behemoth oil tankers to pump toxins, sludge, and all manner of liquid and radioactive pollution into this massive river to be carried away to the bowels of the molden core at the earths center. I am sure there will be lucrative tax incentives for the polluters based on volume and daring. Stand by the worst is about to happen and Republicons will be praising unregulated unbridled corporate greed.

[lunatica]

53. If you flesh that out a tad you could write a novel

:-)

[rhett o rick]

27. And it is owned by Bechtel Corporation. nm

[Judi Lynn]

29. Underground river stretching 3,700 miles found under the Amazon

Underground river stretching 3,700 miles found under the Amazon
By Stan Lehman in Sao Paulo, AP
Saturday, 27 August 2011

A huge underground river appears to be flowing thousands of feet beneath the Amazon, Brazilian scientists have claimed.

Valiya Hamza of Brazil's National Observatory said researchers found indications that the subterranean river is 3,700 miles long, about the same length as the Amazon on the surface.

Mr Hamza said the discovery of the possible underground river came from studying temperature variations at 241 inactive oil wells drilled in the 1970s and 1980s.

He said "thermal information" provided by the state oil company Petrobras allowed his team to identify the movement of water 13,100 feet beneath the Amazon.

More:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/underground-river-stretching-3700-miles-found-under-the-amazon-2344707.html

[Ter]

30. The "Hollow Earth Theory" should gain new ground with this discovery

It would be an amazing find if some animals long thought extinct were down there.

[fadedrose]

31. I read the book THE HOLLOW EARTH

by Bernard. Who knows if it's true. There's a Hollow Earth group on several websites, most input is by Jan...something, can't remember his name, and an alleged diary of Admiral Byrd telling of his trip down when he went to the North Pole......

[sarcasmo]

33. Sure would destroy that 6,000 year old theory.

[sarcasmo]

32. It would be amazing to be able to explore this further.

[Pryderi]

34. We're going to have to invade and DRILL BABY DRILL!

Water Wars...

[southerncrone]

36. Rumor has it that the reason W bought up so much land in Paraguay

is because there is a huge aquifer beneath it. Perhaps this underground river is related.

Water = the new oil on the future commodities market.

[bluesmail]

37. Unbelieveable! Yet believeable. Thanks Judi Lynn, your posts are always

welcomed! :hi: This one in particular.

[Arugula Latte]

38. So cool. I'll bet there are some crazy weird life forms down deep there.

[Raschel]

42. Eeeek! You're right!

[wxgeek7]

39. spelunking

I bet spelunkers worldwide are salivating over the thought of exploring it, hehe.

[Lint Head]

41. I want a condo on the shore.

[dipsydoodle]

46. Kick.

Really good find Judi. Thanks for posting.

:hi:

[undeterred]

48. This is where the pirhanna go on vacation.

:evilgrin:

[goforit]

49. Holy cow!!

Great news!,
Imagine the potential
Is their gold as well?

[myrna minx]

50. That's fascinating. K&R n/t

[high density]

52. Quick! Get Nestle Waters down there to suck it dry and charge us $$$$$ for it. NM

[Land Shark]

54. Is this more like an underground river or an underground spring or aquifer?

[DavidDvorkin]

55. Apparently it's not really a river

At least, not what that word implies to most of us:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14693637