1 | Earth Science

WATER RESOURCE
1. All Water
 Oceans – 97%
 Freshwater – 3%
2. Freshwater
 Icecaps and glaciers – 79%
 Groundwater – 29%
 Accessible surface freshwater – 1%
3. Accessible Surface Freshwater
 Lakes – 52%
 Soil moisture – 38%
 Water vapor – 8%
 Rivers – 1%
 Water within living organisms – 1%
Freshwater

 Stored in glaciers
 Polar regions or high mountains
 Glaciers – permanent body of ice
 Ice sheets – mass of glacial land ice
 Permafrost – a soil, rock, or sediment that is frozen for more than 2 consecutive years

Surface Water

 Represents 0.3% of Earth’s total water

 Uses: irrigation, recreation, transport, fishing, drinking, and hydropower
 Examples: streams, lakes, wetlands, floods, groundwater

Earth’s Water Budget

 The total amount of water in the planet

Residence Time

 The average length of time water molecule in reservoir

 Icecaps and glaciers – thousands of years
 Groundwater – tens to hundreds of years
 Rivers – few weeks
 Water vapor – few days

Usable Water in the World

 Oceans – 97%
 2 | Earth Science

 Glaciers – 2%
 Rivers, lakes, and groundwater – 1%

3 Major Reservoirs

 Saltwater reservoir
 Freshwater reservoir
 Surface water reservoir

World’s Ocean

 Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, Southern