Water is the most important resource. Without water life is not possible. From a chemical point of view, water, H2O, is a pure compound, but in reality, you seldom drink, see, touch or use pure water. Water from various sources contains dissolved gases, minerals, organic and inorganic substances. This photograph of Guilin shows the beauty of natural water. The rain curved an interesting landscape out of the lime stones in the area. Natural waters are often important parts of wonders of the world. The total water system 
surrounding the planet Earth is called the hydrosphere. It includes freshwater systems, oceans, atmosphere vapour, and biological waters. The Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans cover 71% of the Earth surface, and contain 97% of all water. Less than 1% is fresh water, and 2-3 % is ice caps and glaciers. The Antarctic Ice Sheet is almost the size of North America continent. These waters dominate our weather and climate, directly and indirectly affecting our daily lives. They cover 3.35x108 km2. The four oceans have a total volume of 1.35x109 km3.The sunlight dims by 1/10 for every 75 m in the ocean, and humans barely see light below 500 m. The temperature of almost all of the deep ocean is 4°C (277 K).The average ocean depth is 4 km, and the deepest point at the Mariana Trench is 10,912 m (35,802 ft), which compares to the height of 8.8 km for Mount Everest.A Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition is on view at Museum of Science Boston, Massachussetts October 10, 1998 to January 3, 1999. This web site takes you to the sight and sound of deep oceans almost just as good as the exhibits.The distribution of water and other materials on Earth is given in Planetary Parameters. Many fact sheets are available in this link. Hydrospheric processes are steps by which water cycles on the planet Earth. These processes include sublimation of ice, evaporation of liquid, transportation of moisture by air, rain, snow, river, lake, and ocean currents. All these processes are related to the physical and chemical properties of water, and many government agencies are set up to study and record phenomena related to them. The study of these processes is called hydrologyAmong the planets, Earth is the only one in which there are solid, liquid and gaseous waters. These conditions are just right for life, for which water is a vital part. Water is the most abundant substance in the biosphere of Earth.Groundwater is an important part of the water system. When vapor is cooled, clouds and rain develop. Some of the rain percolate through the soil and into the underlying rocks. The water in the rocks is groundwater, which moves slowly.A body of rock, which contains appreciable quantities of water, is called an aquifier. Below the water table, the aquifier is filled (or saturated) with water. Above the water table is the unsaturated zone. Some regions have two or more water tables. These zones are usually separated by water-impermeable material such as boulder and clay.Groundwater can be brought to the surface by drilling below the water table, and pumped out. The amount of water that can be pumped out depends on the structure of the aquifer. Little water is stored in tight granite layers, but large quantities of water are stored in limestone aquifier layers. In some areas, there are under ground rivers. Hydrology is also the study of how solids and solute interact in, and with, water. In this link, the compositions of seawater, composition of the atmosphere, compositions of rain and snow, and compositions of river waters and lake waters are given in details.A simplified table of the major ions present in seawater from the above link is given here. The composition does vary, depending on region, depth, latitude, and water temperature. Waters at the river mouths contain less salt. If the ions are utilized by living organism, its contents vary according to the populations of organisms.Dust particles and ions present in the air are nucleation center of water drops. Thus, waters from rain and snow also contain such ions: Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, NH4+. These cations are balanced by anions, HCO3-, SO4-, NO2-, Cl-, and NO3-. The pH of rain is between 5.5 and 5.6.Rain and snow waters eventually become river or lake waters. When the rain or snow waters fall, they interact with vegetation, top soil, bed rock, river bed and lake bed, dissolving whatever is soluble. Bacteria, algae, and water insects also thrive. Solubilities of inorganic salts are governed by the kinetics and equilibria of dissolution. The most common ions in lake and river waters are the same as those present in rainwater, but at higher concentrations. The pH of these waters depends on the river bed and lake bed. Natural waters contain dissolved minerals. Waters containing Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions are usually called hard water.
surrounding the planet Earth is called the hydrosphere. It includes freshwater systems, oceans, atmosphere vapour, and biological waters. The Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans cover 71% of the Earth surface, and contain 97% of all water. Less than 1% is fresh water, and 2-3 % is ice caps and glaciers. The Antarctic Ice Sheet is almost the size of North America continent. These waters dominate our weather and climate, directly and indirectly affecting our daily lives. They cover 3.35x108 km2. The four oceans have a total volume of 1.35x109 km3.The sunlight dims by 1/10 for every 75 m in the ocean, and humans barely see light below 500 m. The temperature of almost all of the deep ocean is 4°C (277 K).The average ocean depth is 4 km, and the deepest point at the Mariana Trench is 10,912 m (35,802 ft), which compares to the height of 8.8 km for Mount Everest.A Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition is on view at Museum of Science Boston, Massachussetts October 10, 1998 to January 3, 1999. This web site takes you to the sight and sound of deep oceans almost just as good as the exhibits.The distribution of water and other materials on Earth is given in Planetary Parameters. Many fact sheets are available in this link. Hydrospheric processes are steps by which water cycles on the planet Earth. These processes include sublimation of ice, evaporation of liquid, transportation of moisture by air, rain, snow, river, lake, and ocean currents. All these processes are related to the physical and chemical properties of water, and many government agencies are set up to study and record phenomena related to them. The study of these processes is called hydrologyAmong the planets, Earth is the only one in which there are solid, liquid and gaseous waters. These conditions are just right for life, for which water is a vital part. Water is the most abundant substance in the biosphere of Earth.Groundwater is an important part of the water system. When vapor is cooled, clouds and rain develop. Some of the rain percolate through the soil and into the underlying rocks. The water in the rocks is groundwater, which moves slowly.A body of rock, which contains appreciable quantities of water, is called an aquifier. Below the water table, the aquifier is filled (or saturated) with water. Above the water table is the unsaturated zone. Some regions have two or more water tables. These zones are usually separated by water-impermeable material such as boulder and clay.Groundwater can be brought to the surface by drilling below the water table, and pumped out. The amount of water that can be pumped out depends on the structure of the aquifer. Little water is stored in tight granite layers, but large quantities of water are stored in limestone aquifier layers. In some areas, there are under ground rivers. Hydrology is also the study of how solids and solute interact in, and with, water. In this link, the compositions of seawater, composition of the atmosphere, compositions of rain and snow, and compositions of river waters and lake waters are given in details.A simplified table of the major ions present in seawater from the above link is given here. The composition does vary, depending on region, depth, latitude, and water temperature. Waters at the river mouths contain less salt. If the ions are utilized by living organism, its contents vary according to the populations of organisms.Dust particles and ions present in the air are nucleation center of water drops. Thus, waters from rain and snow also contain such ions: Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, NH4+. These cations are balanced by anions, HCO3-, SO4-, NO2-, Cl-, and NO3-. The pH of rain is between 5.5 and 5.6.Rain and snow waters eventually become river or lake waters. When the rain or snow waters fall, they interact with vegetation, top soil, bed rock, river bed and lake bed, dissolving whatever is soluble. Bacteria, algae, and water insects also thrive. Solubilities of inorganic salts are governed by the kinetics and equilibria of dissolution. The most common ions in lake and river waters are the same as those present in rainwater, but at higher concentrations. The pH of these waters depends on the river bed and lake bed. Natural waters contain dissolved minerals. Waters containing Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions are usually called hard water. 
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