- Distribution of water on land
- Oceans
- Glaciers and ice sheets
- Underground water
- Lakes
- Salt lakes or inland seas
- Humidity of floor
- Atmosphere
- Rivers
- References
The water on earth is distributed in eight compartments: rivers, lakes, groundwater, oceans, inland seas, atmosphere, soil moisture, ice sheets or glaciers at the poles.
Water covers most of the Earth, which is why our planet is known as the "blue planet", since it appears bright blue from space.
Rotation of the Earth. Source: Apollo 17
Water on earth is naturally present in the three phases of matter:
-Liquid phase: oceans, lakes and streams
-Solid phase: glaciers
-Gaseous phase: water vapor in the atmosphere.
Water moves through the water cycle and is what allows life on the planet.
Distribution of water on land
Water occupies 71% of the earth's surface.
About 97% of this water is salty and is found in the seas and oceans. The remaining 3% is sweet and only 0.3% is available for human consumption in groundwater and surface waters.
Water on Earth is distributed as follows:
Oceans
The oceans cover 71% of the Earth's surface and contain 97% of all water. The water in the oceans is salty, which makes it unfit for human consumption, although it is home to a large amount of marine life.
Glaciers and ice sheets
Glaciers and ice sheets cover 10% of the earth's surface. They are freshwater reservoirs located mainly in Greenland and Antarctica.
2.14% of the planet's water is found in glaciers.
Underground water
Groundwater is that which is found below the surface of the Earth.
Although it represents only 0.61% of the total water on the planet, it contains almost all the fresh water available around 98%.
Lakes
The lakes are extensions of generally fresh water, which receive their contribution of water from the rivers and the rains that happen on them.
The water contained in the lakes represents 0.009% of the total water available on the earth's surface.
Salt lakes or inland seas
Saline lakes are isolated bodies of water that contain a high concentration of salt and other minerals.
The water in saline lakes represents 0.008% of the total available water on Earth.
Humidity of floor
Soil moisture is the amount of water per volume of land in an area of land and represents 0.005% of the total available water.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere contains water in the form of vapor thanks to the evaporation of water from the earth's surface.
Atmospheric humidity represents 0.001% of the total water on the planet.
Rivers
Rivers are streams of water always in motion that tend to flow into lakes or seas.
The water contained in the rivers represents 0.0001% of the available water. Generally, river water is sweet and suitable for human consumption.
River water is of vital importance for life on earth, since its flow can reach a large extension providing water to many regions.
References
- Woods Rosemary (2007), One Well The Story of Water on Earth. Toronto, CAN: Kids Can Press Ltd.
- Singh Vijay, Singh Pratap, Haritashya Umesh (2011), Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers. Berlin, DE: Springer Science & Business Media.
- Perlman Howard (2017) Water Science for Schools retrieved from water.usgs.gov
- Mullen Kimberly (2012,) Information on Earth's Water retrieved from ngwa.org
- Byatt Andrew (2002), Blue Planet: Natural History of the Oceans. Madrid, ES: Editions B.