World stocks of fresh water on Earth. How many percent of water on earth? Planet hydrosphere and more components

Date: 16.10.2019

Water is the most common substance on our planet: although in different quantities, it is available everywhere, and plays a vital role for the environment, and living organisms. Fresh water has the greatest importance, without which human existence is impossible, and it is impossible to replace it. People have always consumed fresh water and used it for various purposes, including domestic, agricultural, industrial and recreational use.

Water reserves on earth

Water exists in three aggregate states: liquid, solid and gaseous. It forms oceans, seas, lakes, rivers and underground waters in the upper bed of the crust, and the soil cover of the Earth. In a solid state, it exists in the form of snow and ice in polar, and mountainous areas. A certain amount of water is contained in the air in the form of water vapor. Huge volumes of water are located as part of various minerals of the earth's crust.

To reveal the exact amount of water stocks around the world is quite difficult, since water is dynamic and is in constant motion, changing its condition from liquid to solid and gaseous, and vice versa. As a rule, the total number of water resources of the world is estimated as a combination of all water of the hydrosphere. This is all free water existing in all three aggregate states in the atmosphere, on the ground surface and in the earth's crust to a depth of 2000 meters.

Current estimates have shown that on our planet contains a huge amount of water - about 13,860000,000 cubic kilometers (1.386 billion km³). However, 97.5% of this volume is salted water and only 2.5% - fresh. Most of the fresh water (68.7%) is in the form of ice and permanent snowproofs in the Antarctic, Arctic, and mountainous areas. Further, 29.9% exists like groundwater, and only 0.26% of the total amount of freshwater on Earth focused on lakes, reservoirs and river systems, where they are most easily accessible to our economic needs.

These indicators were calculated over a long period of time, but if you take into account shorter periods (one year, several seasons or months), the amount of water in the hydrosphere may vary. This is due to the exchange of water between the oceans, the earth and the atmosphere. This exchange is usually called, or a global hydrological cycle.

Fresh water resources

Fresh water contains a minimum amount of salts (no more than 0.1%) and is suitable for human needs. However, not all resources are available for people, but even those that are not always suitable for use. Consider sources of fresh water:

Glaciers and snow covers occupy about 1/10 sushi in the world and contain about 70% of freshwater reserves. Unfortunately, most of these resources are located away from settlements, therefore it is difficult to accessible.
Underground waters are currently the most common and affordable source of fresh water.
Freshwater lakes are mainly located at large altitudes. In Canada, there are about 50% of freshwater lakes in the world. Many of the lakes, especially who are in arid areas, become salty due to evaporation. The Caspian Sea, the Dead Sea, and the big salty lake are among the world's largest salted lakes.
Rivers form a hydrological mosaic. There are 263 international river basins on Earth, which covers more than 45% of the sushi of our planet (the exception is Antarctica).

Water facilities

The main objects of water resources are:

oceans and sea;
lakes, ponds and reservoirs;
swamps;
rivers, channels and streams;
soil moisture;
groundwater (soil, ground, interpalace, artesian, mineral);
ice hats and glaciers;
atmospheric precipitation (rain, snow, dew, hail, etc.).

Water use problems

For many hundreds of years, the impact of a person on water resources was insignificant and was exclusively local. The excellent properties of water - its resumption due to the cycle and the ability to clean - make fresh water relatively purified and possessing quantitative and high-quality characteristics that will be unchanged for a long time.

However, these features of water gave rise to the illusion of the invariance and inexhaustibility of these resources. Based on these prejudices, the tradition of negligent use of extremely important water resources arose.

The situation has changed a lot over the past decades. In many parts of the world, the results of long-term and improper actions relative to such a valuable resource were discovered. This applies to both direct use of water and indirect.

Worldwide, for 25-30 years, there is a mass anthropogenic change in the hydrological cycle of rivers and lakes that affect water quality and their potential as a natural resource.

The volume of water resources, their spatial and temporary distribution, are determined not only by natural climate fluctuations, as earlier, but now also by types of economic activity of people. Many parts of world water resources become so depleted and strongly contaminated that they are no longer able to satisfy the ever-growing needs. It may
Become a major factor preventing economic development and increase in population.

Pollution of water resources

The main reasons for water pollution are:

Wastewater;

Household, industrial and agricultural wastewater lead to pollution of many rivers and lakes.

Disposal of waste in the seas and oceans;

The burial of garbage in the seas and oceans can cause huge problems, because it adversely affects living organisms that live in waters.

Industry;

Industry is a huge source of water pollution that produces substances harmful to people and the environment.

Radioactive substances;

Radioactive contamination, in which there is a high concentration of radiation in water, is the most dangerous pollution and can be distributed into ocean water.

Oil spill;

Pouring oil carries a threat not only to water resources, but also to settlements of people located near a polluted source, as well as all biological resources for whom water is a habitat or vital necessity.

Leakage of oil and petroleum products from underground storage;

A large amount of oil and petroleum products are stored in reservoirs made of steel, which over time is corrosion, which is due to the leakage of harmful substances into the surrounding soil and groundwater.

Precipitation;

Atmospheric precipitates, such as acid precipitation, are formed during air pollution and change water acidity.

Global warming;

Increased water temperature causes the death of many living organisms and destroys a large number of habitats.

Eutrophication.

Eutrophication is the process of reducing the qualitative characteristics of water associated with excessive enrichment of nutrients.

Rational use and protection of water resources

Water resources provide for rational use and protection, ranging from individuals to enterprises and states. There are many ways to which we can reduce our impact on the aquatic environment. Here is some of them:

Water saving

Factors such as climate change, population growth and increasing dryness increase pressure on our water resources. The best way to maintain water is to reduce consumption and avoid the growth of wastewater.

On the household level, there are many ways to save water, such as: shorter shower, installation of water-saving devices, washing machines with low water consumption. Another approach is to planting gardens that do not require a large amount of water.

Water reserves in the world. List of countries in water resources

A list of 173 countries of the world has been presented in the amount of common renewable water resources according to [. The data includes a long-term average renewable water resources (in cubic kilometers of precipitation, updated groundwater, and superficial tributaries from neighboring countries.

Brazil has the largest renewable water resources - 8,233.00 cubic kilometers. Russia - 4,508.00 are the largest stocks in Europe and the world. Further, USA - 3,069,00, Canada - 2 902.00 and China - 2,840.00. Full table - see below.

Fresh water. Stocks [Source - 2].

Fresh water - the opposite of seawater, covers that part of the available water of the Earth, in which the salts are contained in the minimum quantities. Water, the saline of which does not exceed 0.1%, even in the form of steam or ice is called fresh. Ice arrays in the polar regions and glaciers contain the largest part of the fresh water of the Earth. In addition, fresh water exists in rivers, streams, underground waters, freshly lakes, as well as in the clouds. According to different calculations, the share of fresh water in the total amount of water on Earth is 2.5-3%.

About 85-90% of freshwater reserves are contained in ice. The distribution of fresh water on the globe is extremely uneven. In Europe and Asia, where 70% of the world's population live, only 39% of river waters are concentrated.

Russia on surface water resources occupies a leading place in the world. Only in the unique Lake Baikal is concentrated about 20% of the world's reserves of freshwater and more than 80% of Russian reserves. With a total volume of 23.6 thousand km³ in the lake, about 60 km³ is rare on the purity of natural water is reproduced annually.

According to the UN, at the beginning of the 2000s, more than 1.2 billion people live in a constant shortage of fresh water, about 2 billion suffer from it regularly. By the middle of the XXI century, the number of water living with a constant lack of water will exceed 4 billion people. In such a situation, some experts suggest that the main advantage of Russia for the long-term perspective is water resources.

Freshwater reserves: Atmospheric pairs - 14 000 or 0.06%, river fresh water - 200 or 0.005%, and total is 28,553,200 or 100%. Sources - Wikipedia: ,.

List of countries in water resources [Source - 1]

№	Country	Common volume of resume. water resources (cubic meters)	Date Infor mATION
1	Brazil	8 233,00	2011
2	Russia	4 508,00	2011
3	United States	3 069,00	2011
4	Canada	2 902,00	2011
5	China	2 840,00	2011
6	Colombia	2 132,00	2011
7	European Union	2 057.76	2011
8	Indonesia	2 019,00	2011
9	Peru	1 913,00	2011
10	Congo, Dr.	1 283,00	2011
11	India	1 911,00	2011
12	Venezuela	1 233,00	2011
13	Bangladesh	1 227,00	2011
14	Burma	1 168,00	2011
15	Chile	922,00	2011
16	Vietnam	884,10	2011
17	Congo, Republic	832,00	2011
18	Argentina	814,00	2011
19	Papua New Guinea	801,00	2011
20	Bolivia	622,50	2011
21	Malaysia	580,00	2011
22	Australia	492,00	2011
23	Philippines	479,00	2011
24	Cambodia	476,10	2011
25	Mexico	457,20	2011
26	Thailand	438,60	2011
27	Japan	430,00	2011
28	Ecuador	424,40	2011
29	Norway	382,00	2011
30	Madagascar	337,00	2011
31	Paraguay	336,00	2011
32	Laos	333,50	2011
33	New Zealand	327,00	2011
34	Nigeria	286,20	2011
35	Cameroon	285,50	2011
36	Pakistan	246,80	2011
37	Guyana	241,00	2011
38	Liberia	232,00	2011
39	Guinea	226,00	2011
40	Mozambique	217,10	2011
41	Romania	211,90	2011
42	Turkey	211,60	2011
43	France	211,00	2011
44	Nepal	210,20	2011
45	Nicaragua	196,60	2011
46	Italy	191,30	2011
47	Sweden	174,00	2011
48	Iceland	170,00	2011
49	Gabon	164,00	2011
50	Serbia	162,20	2011
51	Sierra Leone	160,00	2011
52	Germany	154,00	2011
53	Angola.	148,00	2011
54	Panama	148,00	2011
55	Great Britain	147,00	2011
56	Centre. Africans. Rep.	144,40	2011
57	Ukraine	139,60	2011
58	Uruguay	139,00	2011
59	Iran	137,00	2011
60	Ethiopia	122,00	2011
61	Suriname	122,00	2011
62	Costa Rica	112,40	2011
63	Spain	111,50	2011
64	Guatemala	111,30	2011
65	Finland	110,00	2011
66	Kazakhstan	107,50	2011
67	Croatia	105,50	2011
68	Zambia	105,20	2011
69	Hungary	104,00	2011
70	Mali.	100,00	2011
71	Tanzania	96.27	2011
72	Honduras	95.93	2011
73	Netherlands	91,00	2011
74	Iraq	89.86	2011
75	Ivory Coast	81.14	2011
76	Butane	78,00	2011
77	Austria	77,70	2011
78	North Korea	77.15	2011
79	Greece	74.25	2011
80	South Korea	69,70	2011
81	Portugal	68,70	2011
82	Taiwan	67,00	2011
83	Uganda	66,00	2011
84	Afghanistan	65.33	2011
85	Sudan	64,50	2011
86	Georgia	63.33	2011
87	Poland	61,60	2011
88	Belarus	58,00	2011
89	Egypt	57,30	2011
90	Switzerland	53,50	2011
91	Ghana	53,20	2011
92	Sri Lanka	52,80	2011
93	Ireland	52,00	2011
94	South Africa	51,40	2011
95	Slovakia	50,10	2011
96	Uzbekistan	48.87	2011
97	Solomon islands	44,70	2011
98	Chad	43,00	2011
99	Albania	41,70	2011
100	Senegal	38,80	2011
101	Cuba	38.12	2011
102	Bosnia and Herzegovina	37,50	2011
103	Latvia	35.45	2011
104	Mongolia	34,80	2011
105	Azerbaijan	34.68	2011
106	Niger	33.65	2011
107	Slovenia	31.87	2011
108	Guinea-Bisau.	31,00	2011
109	Kenya	30,70	2011
110	Morocco	29,00	2011
111	Fiji	28.55	2011
112	Benin	26.39	2011
113	Equatorial Guinea	26,00	2011
114	Salvador	25.23	2011
115	Lithuania	24,90	2011
116	Turkmenistan	24.77	2011
117	Kyrgyzstan	23.62	2011
118	Tajikistan	21.91	2011
119	Bulgaria	21,30	2011
120	Dominican rep.	21,00	2011
121	Zimbabwe	20,00	2011
122	Belize	18.55	2011
123	Belgium	18,30	2011
124	Namibia	17.72	2011
125	Malawi	17.28	2011
126	Syria	16,80	2011
127	Somalia	14,70	2011
128	Go	14,70	2011
129	Haiti	14,03	2011
130	Czech Republic	13,15	2011
131	Estonia	12,81	2011
132	Burundi	12,54	2011
133	Burkina Faso	12,50	2011
134	Botswana	12,24	2011
135	Algeria	11,67	2011
136	Moldova	11,65	2011
137	Mauritania	11,40	2011
138	Rwanda	9,50	2011
139	Jamaica	9,40	2011
140	Brunei	8,50	2011
141	Gambia	8,00	2011
142	Armenia	7,77	2011
143	Macedonia	6,40	2011
144	Eritrea	6,30	2011
145	Denmark	6,00	2011
146	Tunisia	4,60	2011
147	Swaziland.	4,51	2011
148	Lebanon	4,50	2011
149	Trinidad and Tobago	3,84	2011
150	Luxembourg	3,10	2011
151	Lesotho	3,02	2011
152	Mauritius	2,75	2011
153	Saudi Arabia	2,40	2011
154	Yemen	2,10	2011
155	Israel	1,78	2011
156	Oman	1,40	2011
157	Comoros	1,20	2011
158	Jordan	0.94	2011
159	Cyprus	0.78	2011
160	Libya	0,70	2011
161	Singapore	0,60	2011
162	Cape Verde	0,30	2011
163	Djibouti	0,30	2011
164	UAE	0,15	2011
165	Bahrain	0.12	2011
166	Barbados	0.08	2011
167	Qatar	0.06	2011
168	Antigua and Barbuda	0,05	2011
169	Malta	0,05	2011
170	Maldives	0.03	2011
171	Bahamas	0.02	2011
172	Kuwait	0.02	2011
173	Saint Kitts and Nevis	0.02	2011

Water is life. And if without food, a person can hold out for some time, then it is almost impossible to do it without water. Starting from the heyday of mechanical engineering, the production industry water has become too fast and without much attention on the part of a person is polluted. Then the first calls for the importance of the safety of water resources appeared. And if, in general, the water is enough, the reserves of fresh water on the ground are a negligible share of this volume. Let's go together with this question.

WATER: how much is it, and in what form it exists

Water is an important part of our life. And it is she who is most of our planet. Humanity uses this extremely important resource every day: household needs, production needs, agricultural work and much more.

We are accustomed to think that water has one state, but in fact it has three forms:

liquid;
gas / pairs;
solid state (ice);

In a liquid state, it is located in all water basins on the surface of the earth (rivers, lakes, sea, oceans) and in the bowels of soil (groundwater). In the hard state we see it in the snow and in ice. In the gas form it appears in the form of couples, clouds.

For these reasons, it is problematic for these reasons. But according to preliminary data, the total volume of water is about 1.386 billion cubic kilometers. Moreover, 97.5% is salted water (unsuitable for drinking) and only 2.5% - fresh.

Freshwater stocks on Earth

The greatest cluster of fresh water is concentrated in the glaciers and snow of the Arctic and Antarctica (68.7%). Next comes soil waters (29.9%) and only incredibly small part (0.26%) focused in rivers and lakes. It is from there that mankind draws the necessary water resources.

The global water cycle changes regularly, and this numerical values \u200b\u200bare changing as well. But in general, the picture looks like this. The main stocks of fresh water on Earth in glaciers, snow and groundwater, mining it from these sources is very problematic. Perhaps, not in the distant future, humanity will have to draw his gaze to these sources of fresh water.

Where is the most fresh water

Consider in more detail the sources of fresh water, and find out what part of the planet is most of all:

Snow and ice on the North Pole are a 1/10 part of the total reserve of fresh water.
Underground waters today also serve as one of the main sources for water extraction.
Lakes and rivers with fresh water, as a rule, are located on high elevations. In this water basin, the main stocks of fresh water on Earth are concentrated. In the lakes of Canada, 50% of the total freshwater lakes of the world are concentrated.
River systems cover about 45% of the sushi of our planet. Their number is 263 units of water basin suitable for drinking.

It becomes obvious from the above that the distribution of freshwater reserves is uneven. Somewhere it most, and somewhere insignificantly small. There is another corner of the planet (except Canada), where the greatest stocks of fresh water on Earth. These are the countries of Latin America, here is 1/3 of the total world volume.

The largest freshwater lake is Baikal. It is located in our country and is protected by the state, listed in the Red Book.

Suitable water

If you go from the opposite, then the mainland who most needs a lifeful moisture is Africa. Many countries are concentrated here, and everyone has the same problem with a water resource. In some areas it is extremely small, and somewhere it is simply not. Where the rivers flow, water quality leaves much to be desired, it is at a very low level.

For these reasons, more than half a million people are not allowed water of the required quality, and, as a result, suffer from many infectious ailments. According to statistics, 80% of cases of diseases are associated with the quality of the fluid consumed.

Sources of water pollution

Water safety measures are a strategically important component of our lives. Freshwater supply does not apply to inexhaustible resources. And moreover, its value is little regarding the total volume of all waters. Consider the sources of pollution to know how to reduce or minimize these factors:

Wastewater. Numerous rivers and lakes were destroyed by wastewater from various industrial production, with houses and apartments (household slag), with agro-industrial complexes and much more.
The burial of household waste and objects of technology in the seas and oceans. Very often practiced a similar type of burial of rockets and other space instruments that served their term. It is worth considering that living organisms live in the reservoirs, on the health of which and on the quality of water it is strongly affected.
The industry ranks first among the causes of water pollution and the ecosystem of the whole.
Radioactive substances, spreading through water bodies, infect flora and fauna, make water not suitable for drinking, as well as the lives of organisms.
Leakage of oil-containing products. Over time, metal containers in which oil is stored or transported is subject to corrosion, respectively, water pollution - the result of this. Atmospheric precipitates with acid content are able to affect the condition of the water branch.

The sources are much more, here are described the most common of them. In order for freshwater reserves on Earth to remain suitable as possible for consumption, they need to take care of them now.

Water reserve in the depths of the planet

We have already found out that the greatest reserve of drinking water in glaciers, snow and in the soil of our planet. In the depths of freshwater reserves on Earth make up 1.3 billion cubic kilometers. But, in addition to difficulties in its mining, we face problems related to its chemical properties. Water is not always fresh, sometimes salinity reaches 250 grams per 1 liter. Most often there are water with a predominance of chlorine and sodium in its composition, less often - with sodium and calcium or sodium and magnesium. Fresh soil waters are closer to the surface, and at a depth of 2 kilometers, salted waters are most often located.

What do we spend this most valuable resource?

Almost 70%, we set water to maintain the agricultural industry. In each region, this value fluctuates in different ranges. About 22% we spend on all global production. And only 8% of the remaining goes to the needs of everyday consumption.

Reducing the water reserve of drinking water threatens more than 80 countries. It has a significant impact not only for public, but also economic well-being. It is necessary to look for a solution to this issue now. So, the reduced intake of drinking water is not a solution, but only aggravates the problem. Every year, fresh water supply decreases to a value of 0.3%, while not all sources of fresh water are available for us.

Of the total amount of water on Earth, fresh water, so necessary for humanity, is a little more than 2% of the total hydrosphere, or approximately 28.25 million km 3 (Table.

Table 15.2.

Fresh water of the hydrosphere (according to M. I. Lvovich, 1974)

It is necessary to take into account that the main part of freshwater (about 70%) is frozen in polar ice, permafrost, on the mountain peaks. Water in rivers and lakes make up only 3% sushi, or 0.016% of the total hydrosphere. Thus, water suitable for all types of use is an insignificant part of the total water reserves on the ground. The problem is complicated by the fact that the distribution of fresh water on the globe is extremely unevenly. In Europe and Asia, where 70% of the world's population live, only 39% of river waters are concentrated.

Russia on surface water resources occupies a leading place in the world. Only in the unique Lake Baikal is concentrated about 1/5 world stocks of fresh water and more than 4/5 of Russia's reserves.

With a total volume of 23 thousand km 3 in the lake, about 60 km 3 rare on the purity of natural water is reproduced annually.

The average annual total stock of the rivers of the Russian Federation in the 90s. XX V. Sostors 4270 km 3 per year, including 230 km of the year in Russia comes from neighboring territories.

The potential operational resources of groundwater in Russia is about 230 km 3 per year.

In general, in Russia per resident accounts for 31.9 thousand m 3 of fresh water per year. However, the distribution of fresh water, primarily the river flow, in the territory is extremely uneven and does not correspond to the population and placement of industrial enterprises (Table 15.3).

Table 15.3.

Distribution of river runoff according to some economic regions of Russia (on N.

F. Vinokurova et al., 1994)

90% of the total annual volume of river flow falls on the basins of the Northern Ice and Pacific Oceans. The basins of the Caspian and Azov seas, where over 80% of the population of Russia live, and its main industrial and agricultural potential is concentrated, there are less than 8% of the total annual volume of river flow. Water availability of 1 km 2 territory ranges from 130 thousand m 3 in the Central Black Earth region to 610 thousand m 3 - in Volga-Vyatsky, and by one inhabitant - from 2.8 thousand km 3 in Central Black Essential to 307, 5 thousand km 3 in Far Eastern. It is not sufficiently provided with its own water resources Rostov, Astrakhan, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Belgorod, Kurgan Region, Republic of Kalmykia and some other territories.

In the Kurgan region, an average of one person accounts for 1.15 thousand m 3 of water resources per year, which is 6.6 times less than in the Ural region, and 27.7 times less than in general in the Russian Federation.

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Water reserves on earth

The bulk of the water is concentrated in the World Ocean - 96.5% of the total reserves, 1338000 thousand km 3. Thus, the share of fresh water accounts for about 3.5%.

Again, most of the fresh water focuses in glaciers (68.7% of the volume of fresh water or 24064.10 thousand km 3 - 1.74% of the total reserves) and under the ground (groundwater is divided into fresh and salty). Freshwater - 10530 thousand km 3 or 30.1% of the overall stock of freshwater and 300 thousand km 3 are underground ice or 0.86% of the overall stock of freshwater. Fresh groundwater, as a rule, lie at a depth of 150-200 m, their use is 100 times larger than the use of water on the surface.

Waters of fresh lakes contain only 91 thousand km 3 or 0.26% of freshwater volume.

Water in the atmosphere - 12.9 thousand km 3 - 0.04%;

water in swamps - 11.47 thousand km 3 - 0.03%;

water in rivers - 2,12 thousand km 3 - 0.006%;

biological water - 1.12 thousand km 3 - 0.003%.

The largest mirror area of \u200b\u200bthe freshwater reservoir of the world (82680 km 2) - Oz. Top. However, in terms of water (11,600 km 3) and the maximum depth (406 m), it is significantly inferior to OZ. Baikal (24000 km 3 and 1741 m, respectively) and oz. Tanganyika (18900 km 3 and 1435 m, respectively).

The largest fresh reservoir in Europe - Oz. Ladoga. Ladoga Square - 17700 km 2, water volume - 908 km 3, maximum depth - 230 m. The total area of \u200b\u200bthe swamps on the globe ~ 3 million km 2 or 2% sushi. Almost 60% of chisels is located in Russia, and the least in Australia (~ 0.05% of its area). Water in the atmosphere is water vapor and its condensate (droplets and ice crystals). The higher the temperature, the greater the water vapor in the air. Biological water is the water of living organisms, in which there is an average of about 80%. The total mass of the living matter is estimated at 1400 billion tons. Hence the mass of water - 1120 billion tons or 1120 km 3.

Water consumption (water as a resource)

Water, the most important component of the natural environment, has always been exposed to anthropogenic effect, which was particularly intensified in the past century. Water consumption by industry and agriculture has currently achieved huge sizes.

According to experts, irretrievable water consumption is ~ 150 km 3 per year, i.e. 1% of the steady flow of freshwater.

The need for water increases all the time, and recently the acceleration of this increase is about 3.1% per year, i.e. For 10 years, water consumption may increase on ⅓.

The average total river waters of the globe are 46.8 thousand km 3 per year, on the territory of Russia - 4.3 thousand km 3 per year (9.1%) at Square - 17.08 million km 2 ( 11.5%) and the population for 2002 - 145.2 million people. (~ 2.6%). The average water availability of 1 resident of Russia is 80 m 3 per day, while on average in the world this value is 22.5 m 3 per day.

However, 90% of the river flow of Russia falls on the basins of the Northern Ocean and Pacific Oceans. The basins of the Caspian and Azov seas where the main industrial and agricultural potential of Russia is concentrated, and over 80% of the population lives, there are less than 8% of the total annual volume of river flow. This leads to the voltage of water balances in these river basins.

The world stocks of fresh water in the lakes are equal to 91 thousand km 3, of which more than 25% (24.5 thousand km 3) are located in the Lakes of Russia, including in Lake Baikal - 23 thousand km 3 and Ladoga - 908 km 3 (The largest lake in Europe).

The operational reserves of groundwater explored deposits of Russia are estimated at 29.1 km 3 per year, potential - 230 km 3 per year, with general estimates in the world - 23,400 km 3 (just less than 10% in Russia). Currently, according to the UN, over 400 million people live in the regions where there is not enough water and estimated in 2050 their number will increase to 2 billion people. More than 1 billion people do not have safe drinking water. In developing countries, up to 75% of diseases are associated with consumption unsuitable for drinking water.

The lack of water in surface sources and its pollution leads to an all increasing fear of groundwater. In a number of areas of the United States, China, India, Yemen and other countries, groundwater is spent faster than replenished, and their level is steadily reduced. As a result, even such large rivers as Colorado in the USA, Juanhe in China, not to mention small rivers, often dry and no longer fall as before, in the ocean.

Water consumption is growing from the year, and water becomes dirtier. One liter of wastewater makes unsuitable for drinking 8 liters of fresh water, and the volume of worldwide efframes exceeded 1.5 thousand km 3 per year. It is easy to calculate that already ¼ water rivers are unsuitable for drinking.

Many experts are convinced that the world entered the era of wars for resources, among which the most important is water (it simply nothing to replace). According to forecasts by the middle of the century, only 3-4 countries in the world will not experience an acute shortage of fresh water.

According to UN experts, the highest quality drinking water today in Finland, Canada and New Zealand. Russia - in the 7th place. The lowest quality is in Belgium, Morocco and India.

In the reserves per capita, Denmark leads (at the expense of Greenland), French Guiana and Iceland. Russia is not even a dozen. Worst of all are provided with water Kuwait, Palestine and Arab Emirates.

Water is one of the most important factors that determine the placement of productive forces, and very often and means of production.

Most of all the water consumes agriculture. For example, when growing

1 T wheat requires 1500 tons of water;

1 t rice - 7000 tons of water;

1 t Cotton - 10000 tons of water.

Very great need for water and industry. The production of 1 tons of production is consumed by water (in m 3):

steel, cast iron - 15-20 m 3;

calcinated soda - 10 m 3;

sulfuric acid - 25-80 m 3;

nitric acid - 80-180 m 3;

viscose silk - 300-400 m 3;

synthetic fiber - 500 m 3;

copper - 500 m 3;

plastics - 500-1000 m 3;

synthetic rubber - 2000-3000 m 3.

For the operation of the TPP with a capacity of 300 thousand kW, 300 km 3 of water per year is required. The average chemical plant annually spends 1-2 million m 3 of water. In the city with a population of over 3 million people. The daily flow consumption of more than 2 million m 3, and the annual is 1 km 3. Fresh water consumption from 1940 to 2000 in the United States is presented in Table. №__.

Table __

Freshwater consumption (km 3 / year) in the US

Read in the same book: Land Monitoring | Man and human health | Receipt of pollutants from the atmosphere | Disposal of highly dangerous waste in the ocean | Environmental consequences of pollution of the marine environment | Environmental consequences of pollution with chlorinated hydrocarbons | Environmental consequences of sea waters pollution with heavy metals | Protection of marine environment from oil pollution | Measures to combat spilled oil | Legal basis for the protection of the seas | Mybiblioteka.su - 2015-2018. (0.098 sec.)

Hydrosphere (from Greek. Hydor - water and sphaira - ball * a. Hydrosphere; N. Hydrosphare, Wasserhulle; F. Hydrosphere; and. Hidrosfera) - Intermittent Water Shell of Earth, which is a totality of all types of natural waters (oceans, seas, superficial Waters of sushi, groundwater and ice cover). In a broader sense, the composition of the hydrosphere also includes atmospheric water and water of living organisms. Each of the groups of water is divided into subgroups of lower ranks.

For example, in the atmosphere, water can be distinguished in the troposphere and the stratosphere, on the surface of the Earth - water of the oceans and seas, as well as rivers, lakes and glaciers; In the lithosphere - the water of the foundation and a sedimentary case (including the water of artesian basins and hydrogeological arrays).

The bulk of the water of the hydrosphere is concentrated in the World Ocean, the 2nd place in the volume of the aquatic masses occupy groundwater (lithosphere water), 3rd ice and snow of the Arctic and Antarctic regions (sushi surface waters, atmospheric and biologically related water make up the interests of the percent The total water volume of the hydrosphere; see Table).

Sushi surface waters, occupying a relatively small share in the total weight of the hydrosphere, play a crucial role as the main source of water supply, irrigation and edge. The amount of freshwater in the hydrosphere available for use, about 0.3% (see water resources), but the river and fresh groundwater of the water exchange zone are intensively renewed in the process of the total cycle of water, which allows for rational operation to use them indefinitely for a long time. Modern hydrosphere is the result of the long-term evolution of the Earth and the differentiation of its substance.

The hydrosphere is an unlocked system, between the waters of which there is a close relationship that causes the unity of the hydrosphere as a natural system and the interaction of the hydrosphere with other geograms. The flow of water into the hydrosphere with a volcanism, from the atmosphere, lithosphere (water deployment during ilitation, etc.) occurs continuously, as well as removing water from the hydrosphere. The disposal of water in the lithosphere applies to whole geological periods (tens of million years). In the hydrosphere, the decomposition and synthesis of water also occur. Separate illuminator units are distinguished both by the properties of the medium containing water and the properties and composition of the water itself. However, thanks to the cycle of water of various scales and duration (ocean-mainland, intramaterial cycle, cyphans within individual river basins, lakes, landscapes, etc.) It is a single whole. All forms of water cycle constitute a single hydrological cycle, during which all types of water occurs. The most rapidly updated biological waters included in plants and living organisms and atmospheric water. The longest period (thousands, dozens and hundreds of thousands of years) accounted for the resumption of glaciers, deep-roaring groundwater, the waters of the ocean. The control of the water cycle, its use for the needs of the national economy is an important scientific problem that has a lot of economic importance.

Date: 2016-04-07

How many fresh water remains on the planet?

Life on our planet originated precisely from the water, the human body is 75% of the water, so the question of fresh water reserves on the planet is very important. After all, water is the source and stimulant of our life.

Fresh is considered that water that contains no more than 0.1% salt. With that, it doesn't matter in which state it is: liquid, solid or gaseous.

Worldwater reserves

97.2% of the water, which is located on the planet Earth belongs to the salted oceans and seas. And only 2.8% is fresh water. On the planet, it is distributed as follows:

2.15% of water reserves are frozen in the mountains, icebergs and Ice Covers of Antarctica;
0, 001% of water stocks is in the atmosphere;
0.65% of water reserves is in rivers, lakes. From here it takes a person for his consumption.

In general, it is believed that sources of fresh water are endless. Since the process of self-healing is constantly being occurring as a consequence of water circuit in nature. Every year, as a result of evaporation of moisture from the world's ocean, a huge supply of fresh water is formed (about 525,000 km3) in the form of clouds. A small part of it still turns out again in the ocean, but most of the snow and rain falls on the continent, and then falls into the lakes, rivers and groundwater.

Fresh water consumption in different parts of the planet

Even such a small percentage of available freshwater could cover all the needs of humanity, if its reserves were evenly distributed on the planet, but this is not the case.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has allocated several territories, the water consumption level exceeds the volume of renewable water resources:

Arabian Peninsula. For public needs, fresh water is used here than available in available natural sources. The water is exported here with the help of tankers and pipelines, the coat of desalination procedures are carried out.
Under voltage there are water resources in Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. It consumes almost 100% renewable water resources. More than 70% of renewable water resources mined Iran.
Freshwater problems also exist in North Africa, especially in Libya and Egypt. These countries use almost 50% of water resources.

The greatest need is not those countries where drought are often, but those where the high population density. You can see it using the table below. For example, Asia has the largest area of \u200b\u200bwater resources, and the smallest Australia. But at the same time, every resident of Australia is provided with drinking water 14 times better than any resident of Asia. And all because the number of Asia population is 3.7 billion, whereas in Australia there are only 30 million.

Freshwater use problems

Over the past 40 years, the amount of pure fresh water at the rate of one person decreased by 60%. Agriculture is the largest consumer of fresh water.

To date, this sector of the economy consumes almost 85% of the total amount of fresh water used by man. The products that were raised with the help of artificial irrigation are much more expensive than that that has grown on the soil and irrigates the rain.

More than 80 countries of the world are lack of fresh water. And, every day, this problem is increasingly sharpened. Water deficit even causes humanitarian and government conflicts. Improper use of groundwater leads to a decrease in their volumes. Every year, these reserves are depleted from 0.1% to 0.3%. Moreover, in poor countries, 95% of water cannot be used for drinking or in food due to a high level of pollution.

The need for clean drinking water increases every year, but its number - on the contrary, it only decreases. Almost 2 billion people are limited to water use. According to experts by 2025, almost 50 countries of the world, where the number of residents will exceed 3 billion people, will be scented with the problem of water deficiency.

In China, despite the large amount of precipitation, half of the population does not have regular access to drinking water in sufficient volume. Groundwater, like the soil itself, resumes too slow (about 1% per year).

The question of the greenhouse effect remains relevant. The climatic state of the Earth is constantly worsening due to the constant allocation into the atmosphere of carbon dioxide. This causes an abnormal redistribution of atmospheric precipitation, the emergence of droughts in those countries where they are not enough to be, falling out snow in Africa, high frosts in Italy or Spain.

Such anomalous changes may cause a decrease in the level of crop yields, increasing the level of plant disease, reproduction of the population of pests and various insects. The planet ecosystem loses its stability and cannot adapt to such a quick change of conditions.

Instead of results

At the end we can say that on the planet the Earth is sufficient stocks of water resources. The main problem of water supply is that these reserves are distributed on the planet unevenly. Moreover, 3/4 of fresh water reserves are in the form of glaciers, to which it is very difficult to access. Because of this, in some regions, fresh water deficiency is already observed.

The second problem is the pollution of the existing available water sources of human activity (salts of heavy metals, oil refining products). Clean water, which can be used without preliminary cleaning can be found only in remote environmentally friendly zones. But the densely populated regions, on the contrary, suffer from the impossibility of drinking water from their scant stocks.

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Cause First: increase in the population of the Earth and the development of new territories

According to the UN, for 2011, the population of the Earth increased to 7 billion people. The number of people will reach 9.6 billion by 2050. The growth of the population is accompanied by the development of industry and agriculture.

Enterprises use fresh water for all production needs, while returning into nature often already unsuitable for drinking water. She falls into rivers and lakes. The level of their pollution has recently become critical for the ecology of the planet.

The development of agriculture in Asia, India and China has exhausted the largest rivers of these regions. The development of new lands leads to the crime of water bodies and forces people to develop underground wells and deep-sea horizons.

Cause Second: Ethical use of fresh water sources

Most sources of natural fresh water are replenished naturally. The moisture falls into the rivers and lakes with atmospheric precipitation, some of which goes into underground tanks. Deep-sea horizons relate to irreplaceable reserves.

The barbaric use of clean fresh water by man deprives the river and the lake of the future. The rains do not have time to fill the crank reservoirs, and at the same time water is often wondering.

Part of the water used goes under the ground through leaks in urban water supply networks. Opening a crane in the kitchen or in the shower, people rarely think about how much water is lost. The habit of saving resources has not yet become relevant for most residents of the Earth.

The production of deep wells can also be a big mistake by depriving future generation of the main stocks of fresh natural water, and irreparably disrupt the environment of the planet.

The yield of modern scientists see in saving water resources, tightening the control of waste processing and the desalination of marine saline water. If humanity is now thinking and take action on time, our planet will forever remain an excellent source of moisture for all the types of life on it.