oceanography

Lesson3WaterSource-1.docx

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Water Sources

Water is everywhere. Water covers nearly 71% of Earth’s surface. It is in oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams. It is in our bodies, in animals, and in foods. There is freshwater and saline, or salt, water. Freshwater usually has a less than 1% salt concentration. Nearly all of Earth’s available water is in the ocean— only a small fraction is freshwater. Our freshwater comes from glaciers, lakes, rivers, and streams.

Let’s look at the distribution of freshwater and saline water and at how it is recycled on Earth.

What is the distribution of Earth’s water?

97.5% of all Earth’s water comes from our oceans. While salt water is not good for humans to drink, it does provide a home for many marine animals. Most of the freshwater on Earth is in the form of glaciers and ice caps (68.7%), leaving about 30% as groundwater. Freshwater found in lakes and rivers is what organisms use to meet their needs. Freshwater is used for drinking,

transportation, heating/cooling, industry, and other purposes. We use freshwater for many things; therefore, it is important we do our part to be mindful of how much we use and to conserve it.

Part #1: Now watch this video:

Write a short summery of each video. No more than 150 words.

Video #1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei6p-F7vEZ0

Video #2 https://gpm.nasa.gov/education/sites/default/files/videos/Show%20Me%20The%20Water.mp4

If all the water was represented by 1 Liter (1000mL)

Part #2: complete this chart:

Percentage of water: ____ml /1000=_____x100 = ____%.

Where is Water Stored	Measured Amount (Model) of Water on Earth	Percent of Earth’s Water
1) Oceans (Salt Water)
2) Freshwater
3) Icecaps, Glaciers
4) Ground Water
5) Surface water
6) Atmosphere and Soil water

Part #3: Use this data to create a circle graph to represent this distribution.

· Label each increment 10%

· Graph the percentage for each water source

· After graphing, use a different color to shade each water distribution percentage

· Create a graph key

Even though there appears to be an abundance of water here on Earth, we can now see that only a tiny amount of that water is safe for drinking. Even though water can be recycled, the amount of freshwater here on Earth will never increase. What we have is what we have, and we need to be conscious of how we use it so that our planet doesn’t run out of it.

Earth’s

Water

Freshwater

Glaciers and ice caps

Groundwater

Drinking water

If there is no way to increase the amount of freshwater here on Earth, then what are some ways we can conserve the freshwater we have? Do you think we will ever run out? What do you think would happen to our planet and the organisms living here if we ran out of freshwater?

Importance of Water Conservation

Our Earth is about 71% water. Of that percentage, 97% is salt water and 2.5% is freshwater. Because we cannot increase the amount of freshwater, it is important that we conserve as much as we can.

Conserving water is something we should all strive to do on a daily basis. The process of taking salt out of water is very expensive and is not a common practice. Because of this, we need to save as much freshwater as we can so there is enough for future generations.

Part #4: Answer the following questions.

1. Why does each video remove salt water from the drinking water equation?

2. Where is most of the worlds fresh water used for?

3. Where is most of the worlds fresh water stored?

4. Why is most of the worlds ground water not available for use?

5. Where is Earth surface water mostly located?

6. How much fresh water is found on Earth?

7. Where does Los Angels get most of its fresh water?

8. Where do you use the most water in your daily e life?

9. What are a few ways that you can reduce your water requirement?

10. What did you find most interesting from this lesson?