Session 1: Earth's Precious Water. Tell Me - Will the Earth ever run out of water? Where is Earth's water? USGS Water-Science School. The USGS Water Science School "Water, Water, Everywhere.... "You've heard the phrase, and for water, it really is true. Earth's water is (almost) everywhere: above the Earth in the air and clouds, on the surface of the Earth in rivers, oceans, ice, plants, in living organisms, and inside the Earth in the top few miles of the ground. Below are two representations of where Earth's water resides. The left-side bar chart shows how almost all of Earth's water is saline and is found in the oceans. Of the small amount that is actually freshwater, only a relatively small portion is available to sustain human, plant, and animal life.
The globe image represents how much actual water exists, compared to the total size of the Earth. Distribution of Earth's Water In the first bar, notice how only 2.5% of Earth's water is freshwater - the amount needed for life to survive. View a larger version of this image and learn more. All of the World's Water Earth's freshwater. Facts: Water. Water 1 in 10 people lack access to safe water Sanitation 1 in 3 people lack access to a toilet Women & Children Women and children spend 125 million hours each day collecting water Disease Every 90 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease Economics Every $1 invested in water and sanitation provides a $4 economic return Facts About Water & Sanitation Share 663 million people - 1 in 10 - lack access to safe water.1 2.4 billion people - 1 in 3 - lack access to a toilet.1 Twice the population of the United States lives without access to safe water.1,2 1/3 of the global population lives without access to a toilet.1,2 More people have a mobile phone than a toilet.1,3 The water crisis is the #1 global risk based on impact to society (as a measure of devastation), as announced by the World Economic Forum in January 2015. 4 Resource Links Look for more facts in our collection of Water Resource Links.
References Donate now Get involved chevron_right Enewsletter sign-up. Water On Earth. The Water Planet. Oceans Alive! | The Water Planet. If you look down at our planet from outer space, most of what you see is water; 71% of the planet's surface is covered by ocean and it is because of this that the Earth is sometimes called "the water planet". Only about three-tenths of our globe is covered with land. The ocean wraps the globe and is divided into four major regions: the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. Some scientists consider the waters around Antarctica to be a separate, fifth ocean as well. These oceans, although distinct in some ways, are all interconnected; the same water is circulated throughout them all.
If all the continents were crammed into one corner of the Earth, the vast extent of the world ocean could easily be seen. In reality, of course, the continents are not bunched together as shown in the figure to the right, but instead are spread out over the entire Earth's surface. Begin your exploration here looking at the sea: Learn about Water.