Where is the Water?

Interactive Graphic depicting how water storage is declining

Water Storage updates

Some interesting water facts include:

  • Most of the earth's surface consists of water; there is much more water than there is land.
  • Water can not only be found on the surface, but also in the ground and in the air.
  • There is the same amount of water on earth as there was when the earth was formed. The water that came from your faucet could contain molecules that Neanderthals drank…
  • The overall amount of water on our planet has remained the same for two billion years.
  • There are two kinds of water; salt water and freshwater. Salt water contains great amounts of salt, whereas freshwater has a dissolved salt concentration of less than 1%. Only freshwater can be applied as drinking water.
  • Water consists of three atoms, 2 Hydrogen atoms and an Oxygen atom, that are bond together due to electrical charges.
  • The weight of a water molecule depends on the number of moles present, as it is 18 grams per mole.
  • Water moves around the earth in a water cycle. The water cycle has five parts: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration and surface run-off.
  • In a 100-year period, a water molecule spends 98 years in the ocean, 20 months as ice, about 2 weeks in lakes and rivers, and less than a week in the atmosphere.
  • Groundwater can take a human lifetime just to traverse a mile.
  • Most of the earth's surface water is permanently frozen or salty.

 

Last Updated: 6/17/21