Where is all of the Earth’s water?
Posted by Ocean Facts on 15 December, 2009
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Of the three percent of the water that is not in the ocean, about 69 percent is locked up in glaciers and icecaps. Ninety percent of that frozen water is in Antarctica and about nine percent covers Greenland.
Of the remaining freshwater, 30 percent of it is groundwater, captured below our feet. About 0.3 percent is found in rivers and lakes. This means that the water source we are most familiar with in our everyday lives, rivers and lakes, accounts for less than one percent of all freshwater that exists on Earth.
A very small percentage of water (0.1 percent of all water) is also found in the atmosphere.
For more information:
The Ocean’s Role in Weather and Climate, NOS Education
The Hydrologic Cycle, National Weather Service Northwest River Forecast Center
...
Of the remaining freshwater, 30 percent of it is groundwater, captured below our feet. About 0.3 percent is found in rivers and lakes. This means that the water source we are most familiar with in our everyday lives, rivers and lakes, accounts for less than one percent of all freshwater that exists on Earth.
A very small percentage of water (0.1 percent of all water) is also found in the atmosphere.
For more information:
The Ocean’s Role in Weather and Climate, NOS Education
The Hydrologic Cycle, National Weather Service Northwest River Forecast Center
...