This video walks through the current technologies for desalination and innovative designs for using solar energy to power this process.
The video explains the bold plan that Saudi Arabia has developed to design an ultra-modern, pollution-free city using a low-cost, carbon neutral method of desalination called the Solar Dome.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This video clearly outlines the global need for eco-friendly and reliable desalination technologies to address global freshwater scarcity.
The animations and visuals are very engaging.
Additional Prerequisites
Before viewing, it may be helpful to talk with students about the basics of desalination.
Differentiation
Students in social studies, geography or current events classes can use this resource to discuss how climate change will impact water availability, especially in the Middle East.
A potential extension activity to this resource could include teaching students how to build their own desalination devices.
Related resources include this video about the global water crisis and this podcast about water scarcity.
Scientist Notes
In this video, the desalination process' fundamentals and the necessity of providing fresh water to Middle Eastern countries with declining water supplies are emphasized. In order to desalinate seawater in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way, a variety of techniques and technologies are being investigated. The Solar dome from NEOM serves as an illustration. This resource is excellent for the classroom.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ETS1: Engineering Design
HS-ETS1-1 Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
HS-ETS1-3 Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Geography
D2.Geo.9.9-12 Evaluate the influence of long-term climate variability on human migration and settlement patterns, resource use, and land uses at local-to-global scales.
