Why fresh water is one of Earth's limited resources and distribution of water in the earth's crust and the hydrological cycle?
Yes, fresh water is one of Earth's limited resources. Only about 3% of the Earth's water is fresh, and the rest is saltwater. Of the fresh water, about 69% is locked up in glaciers and ice caps, 30% is groundwater, and less than 1% is surface water, such as lakes, rivers, and streams.
The distribution of water in the Earth's crust is uneven. Some areas, such as the rainforests, have abundant fresh water, while other areas, such as deserts, have very little. The distribution of water is also affected by climate change, which is causing more extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods.
The hydrological cycle is the process by which water moves through the Earth's system. The cycle begins with evaporation, when water from the oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams evaporates into the atmosphere. The water vapor then condenses and forms clouds. Precipitation, such as rain or snow, falls from the clouds and returns to the Earth's surface. Some of the precipitation infiltrates the ground and becomes groundwater. The rest of the precipitation flows over the Earth's surface as runoff and eventually returns to the oceans.
Yes, approximately 69 percent of Earth's fresh water is locked away in the form of ice in glaciers and polar ice caps, and another 30 percent of Earth's fresh water is under the surface in the form of groundwater. That leaves only about one percent of Earth's fresh water as readily available for human use. The Fresh water is a critical resource because it is very hard to find the fresh water in natural form. There, it is only 3% of fresh natural water in a drinkable form. Also it contains the maximum marine animals which are in extinction that means critically endangered. So Fresh water is a critical resource. Out of 3 percent of freshwater, 1 percent is in the form of ice and snow at glaciers and mountains. Also, people waste water and overuse which causes scarcity of water. The Earth is a closed system, meaning that very little matter, including water, ever leaves or enters the atmosphere; the water that was here billions of years ago is still here now. But, the Earth cleans and replenishes the water supply through the hydrologic cycle. While there are several causes of the increasing water consumption, nations and citizens should take certain steps to tackle this issue. Freshwater has always been a limited resource in some parts of the world. Today, however, growing worldwide demand has made this a global problem. Water is one of the most vital sources for all living organisms. Although water is a renewable resource, scarcity of quality water is still a big issue in many parts of the world. We need water for various purposes such as to grow food, keep clean; generate electricity, control fire, and most importantly to stay alive. There are several reasons for the decrease in fresh water resources. Some of the main factors include climate change, population growth, pollution, and unsustainable water management practices. Climate change leads to changes in precipitation patterns, resulting in droughts and reduced water availability. The oceans constitute 97.3% of all water sources on the Earth. Thus, the percentage of freshwater sources is only 2.7%. 3% of the earth's water is fresh. 2.5% of the earth's fresh water is unavailable: locked up in glaciers, polar ice caps, atmosphere, and soil; highly polluted; or lies too far under the earth's surface to be extracted at an affordable cost. 0.5% of the earth's water is available fresh water. In reality, however, we have a limited amount of usable fresh water. Over 97 percent of the earth's water is found in the oceans as salt water. Two percent of the earth's water is stored as fresh water in glaciers, ice caps, and snowy mountain ranges. However, it is a limited resource; fresh water makes up only about three percent of all water on Earth. Although fresh water is considered a renewable resource, the use of fresh water in some regions exceeds the ability of natural processes to replenish supplies. The distribution of land and water on Earth in percentage is - water covers approximately 70.8 % of the area while land covers 29.2 %. Water distribution on Earth's surface is highly unequal. Only 3 % of the water on the surface is clean; the other 97 % is in the ocean.Precipitation that falls to the Earth is distributed in four main ways: some is returned to the atmosphere by evaporation, some may be intercepted by vegetation and then evaporated from the surface of leaves, some percolates into the soil by infiltration, and the remainder flows directly as surface runoff into the sea. The distribution of land and water on Earth in percentage is - water covers approximately 70.8 % of the area while land covers 29.2 %. Water distribution on Earth's surface is highly unequal. Only 3 % of the water on the surface is clean; the other 97 % is in the ocean.
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