Rush Holt's US Patent 4,249,518: Method for maintaining a correct density gradient in a non-convecting solar pond

Rush Holt was the Congressman representing the area of New Jersey including Princeton University.
Holt had a good grasp of issues in patent "reform."

The first claim of his US '518 patent:

 A method for automatically controlling the salt gradient region in a non-convecting salt gradient pond comprising the steps of: 

A. providing a solar pond having an upper fresh water region, an intermediate salt gradient region and a lower heat storage region; 

B. automatically removing salty water from a first level of said lower heat storage region of said solar pond in response to a sensed ambient condition; 

C. feeding said removed salty water to a spillway where said water is exposed to sun and air; 

D. evaporating said saltly water by said sun and air on said spillway so as to form a concentrated brine; 

E. collecting said concentrated brine from said spillway; and 

F. automatically returning said collected concentrated brine to a second level of said solar pond above said first level.