… Drilling for fresh water under the salt water off Cape Cod, Expedition 501 extracted thousands of samples from what is now thought to be a massive, hidden aquifer stretching from New Jersey as far north as Maine. It’s just one of many depositories of “secret fresh water” known to exist in shallow salt waters around the world that might some day be tapped to slake the planet’s intensifying thirst. … The potential is enormous. So are the hurdles of getting the water out and puzzling over who owns it, who uses it and how to extract it without undue harm to nature.

Other water science news:

• The Conversation: Blog: How environmental RNA can give us a real-time picture of freshwater biodiversity
• The New York Times: What the future ocean might look like amid climate change, overfishing and more