Continuous measurement of an artificial upwelling of deep sea water induced by the perpetual salt fountain

A perpetual salt fountain can draw up deep sea water without any artificial energy source. This is one of the ideal ways to draw up deep sea water for nutrient enhancement application. A perpetual salt fountain experiment was carried out in May 2004. The estimated average velocity of the upwelling after 48 h from the start of the experiment was about 7 mm/s, and it continued for about 3 days. The flow rate with a single pipe was estimated as approximately 45 m3/day. The amount of upwelled deep sea water by this single pipe seems too small to be of benefit, but we can easily increase the amount by deploying a number of pipes.