saltwater

Dr Manish Chandi, a social ecologist, says the project will also affect saltwater crocodiles and the island’s water monitors, fish and avifauna.

Desalination is a widely used method to produce potable water, however an energy-intensive process is required to separate the dissolved salt in saltwater.

The huge saltwater crocodile lived in the sanctuary on an island off the coast of Queensland since being caught in Australia's Northern Territory in the 1980s.

Its icy crust is up to 25km thick, and sloshing beneath, there could be a vast saltwater ocean.

Scientists believe Europa has liquid water in the form of a large saltwater ocean beneath its icy crust.