Montag, 7. Oktober 2013

Only 2.5% of the World's Water is actually Freshwater


We all know that there is A LOT of water on our planet. But the problem is: most of this water is saltwater, which means that we can not drink it. Only 2.5% of the overall water is freshwater. Most of this water is stored in glaciers and permanent snow cover, the rest is stored in groundwater. Only 0.3% of the Freshwater comes from lakes and rivers.



But the saltwater plays a big role in the world water cycle. When the water in the oceans and seas evaporates, saltwater is becoming freshwater. Vaporized into clouds, the water gets transported all over the world. Precipitation brings the freshwater down to the earth's surface again, where it infiltrates into the ground or the lakes and rivers – with the exception of glacial regions. In this areas, that are either in great heights or close to the north or south pol, the water changes its aggregate state to solid. It is not infiltrating into the ground anymore. As the fist image shows, glaciers are the biggest freshwater accumulators. 

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