Water distribution
Water is distributed in many sorts of environments. The distribution of water is quite uneven… 3% of water on the surface, while the rest (97% of water) is in the ocean. There is 69% of freshwater in glaciers, 30% underground and 1% is located in lakes, rivers and swamps. To make it more simple, only 1% of water on the surface is usable (for us humans), and the 99% that is usable is usually underground.
Glaciers are on distribution of water...they are large bodies of moving mass of ice and snow. An ‘ Ice Cap ’ is a glacier that forms on an extensive area of relatively level land that flows out from its source. All glaciers begin as falling snowflakes and these start increasing becoming grains, ice crystals and the weight of the snow creates pressure that gradually changes the ice crystals into glacial ice. There are valley glaciers, and continental glaciers.
Not only glaciers but there is also park ice and icebergs. Similar to the glacier (how it grows part), the iceberg much smaller in size and come from frozen sea water breaking off. While park ice is a sheet of ice that is rarely more than 5 meters thick and can be broken easily.
Glaciers are on distribution of water...they are large bodies of moving mass of ice and snow. An ‘ Ice Cap ’ is a glacier that forms on an extensive area of relatively level land that flows out from its source. All glaciers begin as falling snowflakes and these start increasing becoming grains, ice crystals and the weight of the snow creates pressure that gradually changes the ice crystals into glacial ice. There are valley glaciers, and continental glaciers.
Not only glaciers but there is also park ice and icebergs. Similar to the glacier (how it grows part), the iceberg much smaller in size and come from frozen sea water breaking off. While park ice is a sheet of ice that is rarely more than 5 meters thick and can be broken easily.
|
Reference: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth103/node/701 |
Freshwater systems can exist above ground (Surface Water) as well as below ground (Ground water). Groundwater is found below the surface in small pores between rocks and soil.
A lake and a pond are holes in the ground filled with water but a lake is deeper so the sunlight does not reach the bottom, a pond is shallower so the sun will go right to the bottom depending on how much suspended soil there is floating around. In lowland areas, wetlands exist. They are saturated with water most of the time. Wetlands provide habitat for a vast diversity of living organisms.
Streams and rivers are fast flowing waterways fast flowing rivers and streams are usually rich in oxygen. The source of a river may be from a melting glacier high in the mountains. Small streams will form together and form a channel the speed and size grow. At first the river is fast and flows fairly straight. As the river reaches lower elevations it begins to slow, causing curves to form, until it reaches a flat floodplain and the sediment it has picked up is deposited in a fan-shaped deposit called a delta.
A lake and a pond are holes in the ground filled with water but a lake is deeper so the sunlight does not reach the bottom, a pond is shallower so the sun will go right to the bottom depending on how much suspended soil there is floating around. In lowland areas, wetlands exist. They are saturated with water most of the time. Wetlands provide habitat for a vast diversity of living organisms.
Streams and rivers are fast flowing waterways fast flowing rivers and streams are usually rich in oxygen. The source of a river may be from a melting glacier high in the mountains. Small streams will form together and form a channel the speed and size grow. At first the river is fast and flows fairly straight. As the river reaches lower elevations it begins to slow, causing curves to form, until it reaches a flat floodplain and the sediment it has picked up is deposited in a fan-shaped deposit called a delta.