The largest amount of fresh water is concentrated in. Main sources of pollution

Reserves fresh water on the planet are decreasing. How can this threaten humanity?

The water reserves on our planet are enormous - according to scientists, the hydrosphere is about one and a half billion cubic meters. And this is very important, because without sufficient water reserves, not only humanity, but also all flora and fauna could not exist. However, only 3% of the total amount of water on Earth is fresh water. Its volume is approximately ninety million cubic meters. And more than seventy percent of the earth's surface is covered by salty waters of the world's oceans, unsuitable for drinking.

What are the water reserves on planet Earth?

Fresh water is not only found in rivers and lakes. Most of the vital liquid we need is contained in glaciers, as well as in underground “reservoirs” formed naturally. For the most part it's not even underground lakes, but simply wet sand and gravel located on great depth. Only 0.3 percent of the world's fresh water is found on the land surface in its usual (unfrozen) state. And this is a lot - for example, the volume of Lake Baikal, the deepest on our planet, is equal to 20% of all the world's fresh water reserves located in free state. Meanwhile, if we imagine that all the glaciers suddenly melted and poured onto earth's surface, and then froze again, then the entire land would be covered with a crust of ice more than half a meter thick. The volume of drinkable liquid contained in glaciers is equal to the amount of water that ran through the beds of absolutely all the earth's rivers and streams over half a millennium! According to scientists, the volume of glaciers is 24 million cubic meters.

We studied the most important property of our hydrosphere back in first grade - the water cycle in nature. Water first evaporates from the surface of seas and rivers, and then, under the influence of gravity, falls from the clouds in the form of precipitation. But did you know that in ten days both the water in river beds and the vapor in the atmosphere (that is, clouds) are completely renewed? In glaciers, swamps and lakes, water is completely replaced more slowly, and groundwater changes even more slowly. It is thanks to the cycle that water supplies are inexhaustible. Therefore, unlike other natural resources (minerals), water reserves seem practically inexhaustible, but is this so?

Can we “run out” of drinking water?

China is already facing the problem of acute water shortage, and this topic is becoming increasingly relevant for many other countries in Asia and Africa. The problem of water shortage in some countries is so acute that it is already leading to disputes at the political level. First of all, global warming is to blame for this problem. As our planet's atmosphere warms, arid areas are becoming drier.

In general, of course, the person himself is to blame. After all, two and a half billion people on Earth (primarily residents of Asia and Africa), that is, a third of the population, live in unsanitary conditions. And almost half of these unfortunate people do not have direct access to clean water suitable for drinking. Already today, 4/5 of all diseases on Earth are associated with poor quality drinking water and violation of sanitary and hygienic standards.

The tragedy of China lies in the fact that a country in which the population is growing very quickly, at the same time is rapidly developing the economy. More and more populations are concentrated in cities, growing industrial production. Domestic waste and industrial waste make water local rivers and the lakes are undrinkable. Nature can no longer live without outside help cope with the problem of purifying contaminated water. Because of this, already scarce water supplies are rapidly running out. The Chinese government constantly passes various laws, the purpose of which is to conserve water resources and make them accessible to everyone, but passing a law is one thing, but making sure it is respected is another...

Fresh water belongs to a group of substances that everyone knows...everyone knows, but not many can give a definition.

In this material we will try to briefly summarize the main characteristics of this type of water, give basic concepts and main starting points for a better understanding of it.

Fresh water, what is it...

Natural natural waters, in which the level of mineralization is not higher than 1 g/l or 0.1%.
“Clean water”, suitable for drinking and cooking by humans, without harm to health.

Geological dictionary
Fresh water - that's it natural waters with mineralization up to 1 g/l (g/kg); hydrocarbonate predominate, less often sulfate and very rarely chloride. See Classification groundwater according to the degree of mineralization.
Geological Dictionary: in 2 volumes. - M.: Nedra. Edited by K. N. Paffengoltz et al. 1978

Fresh water reserves on Earth

Glaciers - 24,000,000 km 3 (85% of total reserves), 90% concentrated in Antarctic ice;
Groundwater - 4,000,000 km 3 (14%);
Lakes and other freshwater reservoirs - 155,000 km 3 (0.6%);
Soil moisture - 83,000 km 3 (0.3%);
In the atmosphere - 14,000 km 3 (0.06%);
Rivers - 1,200 km 3 (0.04%).

Total the total volume of all fresh water on Earth is 28,253,200 km3, and this is no more than 3% of the reserves of all water on the planet.

Sources fresh water

Rivers;
Lakes;
Artificial reservoirs;
Groundwater:
- Springs;
- Wells;
- Artesian wells;
Atmosphere;
Glaciers;
Desalination systems sea water(artificial sources created by man);

Types of fresh water

Classification by water composition:

Hydrocarbonate fresh waters;
Sulfate fresh waters;
Chloride fresh waters.

Classification according to its human use:

Drinking water;
Household services;
Municipal waters;
Agricultural fields;
Industrial waters.

As we have written more than once, the main threat to fresh water supplies on Earth is human waste, both industrial and domestic.

One more global problem for humans is the uneven distribution of fresh water supplies. In some regions there is an abundance of it, and in others there is a significant deficit.

It is likely that these are the two main challenges that humanity will face in the context of water supply and life support in the near future.

The problem of uneven distribution of water resources can largely be solved through desalination of sea water, but at the moment there are no technologies that would solve this problem “correctly”.

The fight against fresh water pollution, in developed countries, is being carried out quite actively, but, unfortunately, so far unsuccessfully; new concepts, solutions and new technologies may be needed.

How is the purity of fresh water determined, what are its signs? The very concept of “clean water” transforms over time and takes on different colors. Setting aside all sorts of human-made pollutants and all the natural and non-natural bacteria that may be present in water, the purity of water is determined by these criteria.

Fresh water purity criteria:

Water acidity pH;
Water hardness;
Organoleptics - smell, color and taste.

Fresh water can be found in all major states of aggregation water, so she takes active participation in such an important process for our entire planet as the water cycle in nature. Theoretically, thanks to the water cycle, fresh water supplies are constantly replenished and a certain balance is maintained. But this is only theoretical. Due to aggressive human activity, firstly, as we wrote above, there is global pollution waters, and the ecosystem can no longer cope with their purification naturally. Secondly, due to global warming the ecosystem is disturbed and there is an imbalance of water resources. Some scientists predict global drought within 100 years.

In 100 years, we can expect drought, and the quality of life, which is directly related to the quality of fresh water, is already declining today, so the issue of “purity” of fresh water is of utmost importance for all inhabitants of the planet “now and here.”

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Life on planet Earth originated from water, and it is water that continues to support this life. The human body consists of 80% water; it is actively used in the food, light and heavy industries. Therefore, a sober assessment of existing reserves is extremely important. After all, water is the source of life and technological progress. The supply of fresh water on Earth is not endless, so environmentalists are increasingly reminded of the need for rational environmental management.

First, let's deal with ourselves. Fresh water is water that contains no more than one tenth of a percent of salt. When calculating reserves, they take into account not only liquid from natural sources, but also atmospheric gas and reserves in glaciers.

World reserves

More than 97% of all water reserves are found in the world's oceans - it is salty and, without special treatment, is not suitable for human use. A little less than 3% is fresh water. Unfortunately, not all of it is available:

2.15% comes from glaciers, icebergs and mountain ice.
About one thousandth of a percent is a gas in the atmosphere.
And only 0.65% of the total amount is available for consumption and is found in freshwater rivers and lakes.

On at the moment It is generally accepted that freshwater bodies are an inexhaustible source. This is true, the world's reserves cannot exhaust themselves even without rational use– the amount of fresh water will be restored due to the planetary cycle of substances. More than half a million cubic meters of fresh water evaporate from the World Ocean every year. This liquid takes the form of clouds and then replenishes freshwater sources with precipitation.

The problem is that readily available supplies may run out. We are not talking about the fact that a person will drink all the water from rivers and lakes. The problem is the contamination of drinking water sources.

Planetary consumption and deficit

Consumption is distributed as follows:

About 70% is spent on maintaining the agricultural industry. This indicator varies greatly from region to region.
The entire world industry spends about 22%.
Individual household consumption accounts for 8%.

The available freshwater sources cannot fully meet the needs of humanity for two reasons: uneven distribution and pollution.

Fresh water shortages are observed in the following areas:

Arabian Peninsula. Consumption exceeds available resources by more than five times. And this calculation is only for individual household consumption. Water on Arabian Peninsula it is extremely expensive - it has to be transported by tankers, pipelines have to be laid, and seawater desalination plants have to be built.
Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan. The level of consumption is equal to the amount of available water resources. But with the development of the economy and industry, there is an extremely high risk that fresh water consumption will increase, which means that fresh water resources will be depleted.
Iran uses 70% of its renewable freshwater resources.
All North Africa is also under threat - fresh water resources are used at 50%.

At first glance, the problems may seem to be specific to dry countries. However, this is not true. The greatest deficit is observed in hot countries with high population densities. These are mostly developing countries, which means we can expect further growth in consumption.

For example, in the Asian region the most large area freshwater bodies, and on the continent Australia is the smallest. At the same time, a resident of Australia is provided with resources more than 10 times better than a resident of the Asian region. This is due to differences in population density - 3 billion residents of the Asian region versus 30 million in Australia.

Nature management

Depletion of fresh water supplies is leading to severe shortages in more than 80 countries around the world. Reduced inventories are affecting economic growth and social well-being of a number of states. The solution to the problem is to search for new sources, since reducing consumption will not significantly change the situation. The share of annual depletion of fresh water in the world is, according to various estimates, from 0.1% to 0.3%. This is quite a lot, if you remember that not all freshwater sources are available for immediate use.

Estimates show that there are countries (mainly the Middle East and North Africa) in which reserves are being depleted slowly, but water is inaccessible due to pollution - more than 95% of fresh water is not suitable for drinking, this volume requires careful and technologically complex treatment.

It makes no sense to hope that the population’s needs will decrease – consumption only grows every year. As of 2015, more than 2 billion people were limited in consumption, food or household, to one degree or another. According to the most optimistic forecasts, with the same consumption, fresh water reserves on Earth will last until 2025. Afterwards, all countries with a population of more than 3 million people will find themselves in a zone of serious shortages. There are almost 50 such countries. This number shows that more than 25% of countries will find themselves in deficit conditions.

As for the situation in the Russian Federation, there is enough fresh water in Russia; the Russian region will be one of the last to face shortage problems. But this does not mean that the state should not take part in international regulation this problem.

Environmental issues

Fresh water resources on the planet are distributed unevenly - this leads to a pronounced shortage in specific regions, along with population density. It is clear that it is impossible to solve this problem. But we can deal with another problem – the pollution of existing freshwater bodies. The main contaminants are salts of heavy metals, products of the oil refining industry, and chemical reagents. The liquid contaminated by them requires additional expensive treatment.

Water reserves on Earth are also being depleted due to human intervention in hydraulic circulation. Thus, the construction of dams led to a drop in water levels in rivers such as the Mississippi, Yellow River, Volga, and Dnieper. The construction of hydroelectric power plants provides cheap electricity, but damages freshwater sources.

A modern strategy to combat shortages is desalination, which is becoming increasingly common, especially in eastern countries. And this despite the high cost and energy intensity of the process. At the moment, the technology is fully justified, allowing natural reserves to be replenished with artificial ones. But the technological capacity may not be enough for desalination if depletion of fresh water reserves continues at the same pace.

The seas and oceans are filled with water. It seems that there is quite a lot of water on Earth. But in fact, the amount of water available for use is much less than all the water on Earth.

Meaning of water

Water is the basis and source of life on Earth. It occupies most of the planet, which is not surprising. After all, life originated in water, and only then spread to land and air. Both humans and animals are mostly made of water. Fresh water is vital for humans and all living creatures on the blue planet. And it makes up only 3% of all water reserves on Earth. The rest of the water, which makes up 97%, is salty and therefore undrinkable. Most of the total fresh water supply is frozen in glaciers. This means that the amount of available fresh water is negligible compared to total number water all over the Earth. Therefore, it is so important to rationally use fresh water supplies.

The importance of sustainable use

When used rationally, the normal water cycle is maintained and it filters itself. At the same time, the quantity and quality of fresh water remains at optimal level. And thus, all living beings on the planet are provided with the required amount of water. And with irrational use of water resources, the amount of usable water becomes less and less, and water shortage occurs. The water becomes too polluted and becomes unusable, and if it is purified, it is too slowly.

Fresh water is also threatened by drying out. Lakes and rivers are drying up due to the general destruction of the ecosystem. Deforestation plays a significant role here. Forests should retain and purify water, and then gradually release it into natural bodies of water. Due to over-harvesting and forest fires The amount of forest area on the planet is decreasing day by day. And this negatively affects the quantity and quality of drinking water. In turn, a decrease in the amount of clean water contributes to the impoverishment of flora and fauna. Increasingly, there is not enough water for people either.

Water is the main element of the entire Earth's ecosystem. The existence of life on Earth depends on the quantity and quality of fresh water. Widespread water pollution threatens the gradual disappearance of life on the planet. To improve the situation with the shortage of fresh water, you need to take care of both the water itself and nature in general. The fate of the planet is in the hands of people. And it depends only on man whether fresh water will remain on Earth, whether life itself will survive. From current generation depends on whether future generations will have a chance to live, or whether they will be doomed to death.

If you look at our planet from space, the Earth appears as a blue ball completely covered with water. And the continents are like small islands in this endless ocean. This is understandable. Water occupies 70.8% of the planet's surface, leaving only 29.2% of land. Water shell our planet is called the hydrosphere. Its volume is 1.4 billion cubic meters.

Water appeared on our planet about 3.5 billion years ago in the form of vapor that was formed as a result of degassing of the mantle. Currently, water is the most important element in the Earth's biosphere, since it cannot be replaced by anything. Fortunately, water resources are considered inexhaustible because scientists have come up with a way to desalinate salt water.

The main purpose of water is natural resource- maintaining the vital activity of all living things - plants, animals and humans. It is the basis of all life on our planet, the main supplier of oxygen in important process on Earth - photosynthesis.

Water - most important factor climate formation. By absorbing heat from the atmosphere and releasing it back, water regulates climate processes.

It is impossible not to note the role of water sources in the modification of our planet. From time immemorial, people have settled near reservoirs and water sources. Water serves as one of the main means of communication. There is an opinion among scientists that if our planet were entirely dry land, then, for example, the discovery of America would be delayed for several centuries. And we would hardly have learned about Australia for another 300 years.

Types of Earth's water resources

The water resources of our planet are the reserves of all water. But water is one of the most common and most unique compounds on Earth, since it is present in three states at once: liquid, solid and gaseous. Therefore, the Earth's water resources are:

. Surface waters (oceans, lakes, rivers, seas, swamps)

. Groundwater.

. Artificial reservoirs.

. Glaciers and snowfields (frozen water from glaciers in Antarctica, the Arctic and highlands).

. Water contained in plants and animals.

. Atmospheric vapors.

The last 3 points relate to potential resources, because humanity has not yet learned to use them.

Fresh water is the most valuable; it is used much more widely than sea, salt water. Of the total water reserves in the world, 97% of water comes from seas and oceans. 2% of fresh water is contained in glaciers, and only 1% is fresh water reserves in lakes and rivers.

Use of water resources

Water resources are the most important component of human life. People use water in industry and at home.

According to statistics, most water resources are used in agriculture (about 66% of all fresh water reserves). About 25% is used by industry and only 9% goes to meet the needs of utilities and households.

For example, to grow 1 ton of cotton, about 10 thousand tons of water are needed, for 1 ton of wheat - 1,500 tons of water. To produce 1 ton of steel, 250 tons of water are required, and to produce 1 ton of paper, at least 236 thousand tons of water are needed.

A person needs to drink at least 2.5 liters of water per day. However, on average per 1 person per major cities spend at least 360 liters per day. This includes the use of water in sewers, water supply, for watering streets and extinguishing fires, for washing vehicles, etc., etc.

Another option for using water resources is water transport. Every year, over 50 million tons of cargo are transported across Russian waters alone.

Don't forget about fisheries. Marine and freshwater fish plays an important role in the economies of countries. Moreover, fish farming requires clean water saturated with oxygen and free of harmful impurities.

An example of the use of water resources is also recreation. Who among us doesn’t like to relax by the sea, barbecue on the river bank or swim in the lake? In the world, 90% of recreational facilities are located near water bodies.

Water conservation

Today there are only two ways to conserve water resources:

1. Preservation of existing fresh water reserves.

2. Creation of more advanced collectors.

The accumulation of water in reservoirs prevents its flow into the world's oceans. And storing water, for example, in underground cavities, allows you to protect water from evaporation. The construction of canals allows us to solve the issue of delivering water without it seeping into the ground. New methods of irrigating agricultural land are also being developed that make it possible to use wastewater.

But each of these methods has an impact on the biosphere. Thus, the reservoir system prevents the formation of fertile silt deposits. Channels prevent replenishment groundwater. And water filtration in canals and dams - main factor risk for swamps, which leads to disturbances in the planet’s ecosystem.

Today, the most effective measure for protecting water resources is considered to be the method of wastewater treatment. Various ways allow you to remove up to 96% of harmful substances from water. But this is often not enough, and the construction of more advanced treatment facilities often turns out to be economically unprofitable.

Water pollution problems

Population growth, production development and agriculture- these factors have caused a shortage of fresh water for humanity. The share of polluted water resources is growing every year.

Main sources of pollution:

. Industrial wastewater;

. Wastewater utility routes;

. Drains from fields (when the water is oversaturated with chemicals and fertilizers);

. Burial in reservoirs radioactive substances;

. Drains from livestock complexes (such water contains a lot of biogenic organic matter);

. Shipping.

Nature provides for the self-purification of reservoirs, which occurs due to the water cycle in nature, due to the life activity of plankton, irradiation ultraviolet rays, sedimentation of insoluble particles. But all these processes can no longer cope with the mass of pollution that brings water resources planet human activity.