Editing Desalination (section)

==In nature==
[[File:Saltcrystals on avicennia marina var resinifera leaves.JPG|thumb|upright=0.45|Mangrove leaf with salt crystals]]
Evaporation of water over the oceans in the [[water cycle]] is a natural desalination process.

The formation of [[sea ice]] produces ice with little salt, much lower than in seawater.

Seabirds distill seawater using [[countercurrent exchange]] in a [[Salt gland|gland]] with a [[rete mirabile]]. The gland [[Na+/K+-ATPase|secretes highly concentrated brine]] stored near the nostrils above the beak. The bird then "sneezes" the brine out. As freshwater is not usually available in their environments, some seabirds, such as [[pelican]]s, [[petrel]]s, [[albatross]]es, [[gull]]s and [[tern]]s, possess this gland, which allows them to drink the salty water from their environments while they are far from land.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Proctor|first1=Noble S.|last2=Lynch|first2=Patrick J.|title=Manual of Ornithology|isbn=978-0300076196|year=1993|publisher=Yale University Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Ritchison|first=Gary|title=Avian osmoregulation|url=http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/bird_excretion.htm|access-date=April 16, 2011|archive-date=September 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913150428/http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/bird_excretion.htm|url-status=dead}} including images of the gland and its function</ref>

[[Mangrove]] trees grow in seawater; they secrete salt by trapping it in parts of the root, which are then eaten by animals (usually crabs). Additional salt is removed by storing it in leaves that fall off. Some types of mangroves have glands on their leaves, which work in a similar way to the seabird desalination gland. Salt is extracted to the leaf exterior as small [[crystal]]s, which then fall off the leaf.

[[Willow]] trees and [[Reed (plant)|reeds]] absorb salt and other contaminants, effectively desalinating the water. This is used in artificial [[constructed wetland]]s, for treating [[sewage]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.humboldt.edu/arcatamarsh/enhancement4.html|title=Enhancement Marshes|website=Arcata's Wastewater Treatment Plant & The Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary|access-date=April 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808022211/http://www.humboldt.edu/arcatamarsh/enhancement4.html|archive-date=August 8, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>