7 ms·

Surely there is more farm land away from the sea than adjacent to it. How does for example fertilizer from here[1] or here[2] end up at sea? [1] https://goo.gl

Surely there is more farm land away from the sea than adjacent to it. How does for example fertilizer from here[1] or here[2] end up at sea? [1] https://goo.gl/maps/Pm4JGesJZ9xELrBB8 https://goo.gl/maps/Pm4JGesJZ9xELrBB8 [2] https://goo.gl/maps/rzGttw1gMchSWXREA https://goo.gl/maps/rzGttw1gMchSWXREA

hammock 4y ago
The Mississippi and Rhine Rivers
- eru 4y ago
  Might be the Danube and not the Rhine in the second example. (Not that it matters.)
  - hammock 4y ago
    Probably right, good call
soperj 4y ago
[1] - down the Arkansas river to the Mississippi, and right out to sea. [2] - down the Danube, and right out to sea.
- marginalia_nu 4y ago
  That still dozens, if not hundreds of kilometers the fertilizer somehow needs to walk.
  - ceejayoz 4y ago
    It doesn't walk, it flows - sometimes above ground, sometimes under - to the nearest tiny gully, creek, stream, spring, etc., with very few exceptions. The network for the USA: https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/10/21/16/3995911F00000578-0-image-a-10_1477064225642.jpg https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/10/21/16/3995911F000005...
  - seiferteric 4y ago
    It's water soluble.
    - marginalia_nu 4y ago
      Sure, but why is it pulled sideways and not down, and why does it move toward the river of all directions it could move?
      - Tyrannosaur 4y ago
        For exactly the same reason the river exists in the first place. Why does the water flow to the ocean and not just sink into the ground?
        marginalia_nu 4y ago
        A lot of it does sink into the ground though. Thats how aquifiers replenish.
        lukas099 4y ago
        I think the percentage of fertilizer in the groundwater would reach an equilibrium where just as much is going out as is coming in.
        LarryMullins 4y ago
        Water from shallow aquifers also flows into nearby rivers.
      - soperj 4y ago
        Some water is pulled down (along with the half of the fertilizer that's actually used), the rest is literally washed away because the soil can't absorb the amount of water being dropped on it. All the water that's flowing over the ground ends up in rivers (it's the reason they exist in the first place).
      - seiferteric 4y ago
  - 83 4y ago
    It's 14km (8.8mi) from your pinpoint to the Arkansas, from there it's about as straight of a shot toward the gulf of mexico as you can get (via the Mississippi).
contravariant 4y ago
There's very few places where water does not eventually end up in the sea. Though if it seeps into the groundwater it may take a geological amount of time.
83 4y ago
For the US, there's a nice app where you can follow the watershed path: https://river-runner.samlearner.com/ https://river-runner.samlearner.com/ Edit, direct link to the pinpoint: https://river-runner.samlearner.com/?lng=-98.92662834458773&lat=38.08379637247655 https://river-runner.samlearner.com/?lng=-98.92662834458773&...

hammock 4y ago

The Mississippi and Rhine Rivers

eru 4y ago
Might be the Danube and not the Rhine in the second example. (Not that it matters.)
- hammock 4y ago
  Probably right, good call

soperj 4y ago

[1] - down the Arkansas river to the Mississippi, and right out to sea. [2] - down the Danube, and right out to sea.

marginalia_nu 4y ago
That still dozens, if not hundreds of kilometers the fertilizer somehow needs to walk.
- ceejayoz 4y ago
  It doesn't walk, it flows - sometimes above ground, sometimes under - to the nearest tiny gully, creek, stream, spring, etc., with very few exceptions. The network for the USA: https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/10/21/16/3995911F00000578-0-image-a-10_1477064225642.jpg https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/10/21/16/3995911F000005...
- seiferteric 4y ago
  It's water soluble.
  - marginalia_nu 4y ago
    Sure, but why is it pulled sideways and not down, and why does it move toward the river of all directions it could move?
    - Tyrannosaur 4y ago
      For exactly the same reason the river exists in the first place. Why does the water flow to the ocean and not just sink into the ground?
      - marginalia_nu 4y ago
        A lot of it does sink into the ground though. Thats how aquifiers replenish.
        lukas099 4y ago
        I think the percentage of fertilizer in the groundwater would reach an equilibrium where just as much is going out as is coming in.
        LarryMullins 4y ago
        Water from shallow aquifers also flows into nearby rivers.
    - soperj 4y ago
      Some water is pulled down (along with the half of the fertilizer that's actually used), the rest is literally washed away because the soil can't absorb the amount of water being dropped on it. All the water that's flowing over the ground ends up in rivers (it's the reason they exist in the first place).
    - seiferteric 4y ago
- 83 4y ago
  It's 14km (8.8mi) from your pinpoint to the Arkansas, from there it's about as straight of a shot toward the gulf of mexico as you can get (via the Mississippi).

contravariant 4y ago

There's very few places where water does not eventually end up in the sea. Though if it seeps into the groundwater it may take a geological amount of time.

83 4y ago

For the US, there's a nice app where you can follow the watershed path: https://river-runner.samlearner.com/ https://river-runner.samlearner.com/ Edit, direct link to the pinpoint: https://river-runner.samlearner.com/?lng=-98.92662834458773&lat=38.08379637247655 https://river-runner.samlearner.com/?lng=-98.92662834458773&...