Environmental Sciences, asked by tahyamkonyak6, 8 months ago

Write the three main types of water resource​

Answers

Answered by Anonymous
10

Answer:

groundwater, Rain Water, Surface Water

Answered by aditi457211
3

Explanation:

Around 71 percent of the earth's surface is covered in water. This massive quantity of water is hard to visualize: the total water resources of the earth equal roughly 326 million cubic miles, with each cubic mile equal to around 1 trillion gallons of water. To imagine just one trillion gallons of water, try to picture 40 million swimming pools, or 24 billion baths. Now, multiply those numbers by 326 million!

Of all of this water, only about 2.5 percent is freshwater: the other 97.5 percent is saltwater. Almost 69 percent of freshwater resources are tied up in glaciers and ice caps, about 30 percent is groundwater, and a mere 0.27 percent is surface water. While all kinds of water resources are important for the survival of the planet, accessible freshwater is especially important for humans.

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

Water resources come in many forms, but the three main categories are saltwater, groundwater and surface water.

Saltwater Resources

As mentioned, saltwater is abundant in the surface of the planet. However, saltwater is currently not particularly useful when it comes to potable water supplies. Desalination plants, while they do exist, are scarce because the energy required for desalination makes the process extremely expensive.

That said, there are saltwater resources from which humans benefit, aside from beautiful ocean views. Saltwater fish are a staple in much of the world's diet (although overfishing and pollution has put much of the marine life population at risk). Furthermore, tidal waters are being used as a source of hydroelectric energy. So, while saltwater is not helpful in dealing with scarce water supplies, it does provide resources that humans rely on.

Groundwater Resources

Groundwater is the most plentiful of all freshwater resources. As water percolates into the ground through layers of soil, clay, and rock, some of it adheres to the topmost layers to provide water to plants. This water is in what is called the unsaturated, or vadose, zone. Most of the pores in the vadose zone are filled with air, rather than water.

Gravity continues to move the water down through the ground. Eventually, the water reaches the saturated zone, where all the pores are filled with water. The separation between the saturated and unsaturated zone is called the water table.

Aquifers are areas of permeable rock that hold water. Typically, aquifers are made of bedrock that has many fractures and connected pores, such as limestone, sandstone and gravel. Shale and clay layers are impermeable, and therefore make poor aquifers. An aquifer is "recharged" through precipitation from above percolating through the layers of soil and rock. Therefore, there is significant interaction between surface water and ground water.

In turn, groundwater feeds surface water through springs, and surface water can also recharge groundwater

Manmade contaminants such as gasoline, solvents, pesticides, and nitrogen from livestock can wash over the land and can leach in to waterways, degrading the quality of nearby waters. The Clean Water Act in the United States protects the quality of the stream and issues fines to those contributing to the degradation in water quality. By protecting and conserving the water supply, there is a greater guarantee of future water resources for human use.

please mark me as brainleast

Similar questions