Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store

What are the different forms in which water is present on the Earth? Where are these forms present and in what proportion?

seo-qna
SearchIcon
Answer
VerifiedVerified
394.8k+ views
Hint: We know that water is a renewable natural resource that is abundantly present on the Earth. It exists in different forms, depending on climatic and atmospheric factors in different regions.

Complete answer:
Water is the elixir of life. It is the most important resource to exist on Earth. The human body is composed of $ 60\% $ water. It is the basic necessity for the proper functioning of all organisms that exist on Earth. About $ 70\% $ of the Earth is composed of water, due to which the planet appears blue, and is called the blue planet.
Water on the Earth’s surface and atmosphere exists as saline sea water and fresh water. Only $ 2.5\% $ of the total is fresh water, the rest $ 97.5\% \; $ is saline sea water. Out of the $ 2.5\% $ which is fresh water, only $ 0.3\% $ is in liquid form.
Oceans are composed of $ 96.5\% $ water, while ice and snow have only $ 1.76\% . $ Glaciers have around $ 1.74\% $ of water. Ground water has about $ 1.69\% $ of water, lakes have $ 0.013\% , $ the atmosphere has $ 0.00093\% , $ swamps have $ 0.00083\% , $ rivers have $ \begin{array}{*{20}{l}}
  {0.00015}
\end{array}\% , $ biological water has $ 0.000081\% . $

Note:
Most of the freshwater on Earth is found as ice and snow $ \left( {69.6\% } \right) $ and in glaciers $ \left( {68.7\% } \right). $ About $ 99\% $ of oceans is saline water. The Pacific Ocean $ \left( {49.6\% } \right) $ has the highest percentage of saline water out of all the oceans, succeeded by the Atlantic Ocean $ \left( {23.0\% } \right). $