Water Resources Quiz

Study Notes

Water Resources

Water Composition: 96.5% of Earth's water is in the ocean, only 2.5% is fresh water. 71% of the Earth's surface is covered with water.
Usable Water: Only 2.5% of the Earth's water is usable as a water resource.
Learning Objectives: Students will learn to determine the total amount of water on Earth, identify water resources, explain water recycling in the hydrologic cycle, and understand the distribution and importance of various water resources.
Earth's Water Distribution:
- Saline Water: Oceans, seas, and bays comprise almost all the water on Earth (1,338,000,000 cubic kilometers).
- Fresh Water:
  - Surface Water: Includes rivers, lakes, and streams (122,210 cubic kilometers).
  - Ground Water: Stored beneath the Earth's surface in rocks and soil (10,530,000 cubic kilometers).
  - Ice: Ice sheets, glaciers, and permafrost (24,364,000 cubic kilometers).
Water Resources: Natural sources of water usefully available for humans (e.g., drinking, irrigation, industrial processes).
Different Types of Water Resources: Surface water, glaciers, and groundwater.
Surface Water: Freshwater found on Earth's surface in rivers, lakes, and ponds.
Surface Water Significance: Surface water is crucial for both natural ecosystems and human societies.
Groundwater: Freshwater hidden beneath Earth's surface in rocks and soil, like a hidden reservoir.
Groundwater Importance: Provides drinking water, supports agriculture, sustains ecosystems, and replenishes aquifers.
Aquifers: Water-bearing rock layers, crucial for groundwater access. Porosity is the amount of empty spaces in a rock.
Glaciers: Giant rivers of ice that flow slowly in cold, mountainous regions.
Glacier Impact on Water: Melting glaciers can affect water bodies and levels.
Hydrologic Cycle: Describes the continuous movement of water around the Earth's surface and subsystems. Includes processes like evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, transpiration, and sublimation. The processes enable water on Earth to be recycled.
Water Distribution: Global map showing areas with low, medium, and high water scarcity.
Water Use: Pie chart illustrating household water usage by activity (e.g., shower, toilet, laundry, leaks).
Water Conservation: Ways people can conserve water, such as recycling, implementing conservation methods.
Water Resource Management: Includes rain water harvesting, surface water transfers, wastewater treatment, and desalination, augmented water supply to stressed water systems.
Water Quality Issues: Causes of water contamination, such as urbanization, over-extraction, industrial pollution, agricultural runoff, and deforestation. One leading cause of poor water quality is eutrophication
Eutrophication: A process where excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) cause algal blooms and reduce water quality. This impacts the habitats of organisms living in the water, causing oxygen depletion.