News tagged with water
Soviet find of water on the Moon in the 1970s ignored by the West
(Phys.org) -- In August 1976 Luna 24 landed on the moon and returned to Earth with samples of rocks, which were found to contain water, but this finding was ignored by scientists in the West.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jun 01, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (42) |
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US, European nuclear and coal-fired electrical plants vulnerable to climate change: study
Warmer water and reduced river flows in the United States and Europe in recent years have led to reduced production, or temporary shutdown, of several thermoelectric power plants. For instance, the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant ...
Jun 03, 2012 |
3.7 / 5 (12) |
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Groundwater depletion in semiarid regions of Texas and California threatens US food security
The nation's food supply may be vulnerable to rapid groundwater depletion from irrigated agriculture, according to a new study by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and elsewhere.
May 28, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (7) |
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The environment and pharmaceuticals and personal care products: What are the big questions?
Researchers at the University of York headed a major international review aimed at enhancing efforts to better understand the impacts of chemicals used in pharmaceuticals or in personal care products, such as cosmetics, soaps, ...
May 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
Recovering water from tailings ponds
(Phys.org) -- As Alberta faces increasing pressure to make the oil industry more sustainable, one University of Alberta researcher may have found a natural solution to a problem that has been plaguing oil companies for years.
May 29, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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Study reveals pesticide approval processes don't protect river biodiversity
(Phys.org) -- The results of an international study, using data from globally available field research, indicate that current pesticide approval procedures do not adequately protect the environment.
Jun 01, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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Blanch your weeds
You don't need to spray weedkiller to remove the weeds between your paving stones. Six treatments throughout the summer with either boiling water, steam or flaming will dispatch even the hardiest of unwanted plants. This ...
May 31, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
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Japan's runaway penguin suffering from pink-eye
A plucky penguin that was recaptured last week after nearly three months at large in the polluted waters of Tokyo Bay has conjunctivitis, an aquarium official said Monday.
May 28, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
Reduced tillage doesn't mean reduced cotton yields under drip irrigatio
Loss of production may be one concern cotton producers have on the Rolling Plains when considering switching to reduced- or no-tillage systems, said Dr. Paul DeLaune, Texas AgriLife Research environmental soil scientist in ...
May 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
Flame virus a new age cyber spy tool
The Flame computer virus that smoldered undetected for years in Middle Eastern energy facilities confirmed fears that the world has entered a new age of cyber espionage and sabotage.
May 31, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
Expedition studies acid impacts on Arctic
The effects of ocean acidification on Arctic seas will be studied by a team of 30 researchers, including Dr Toby Tyrrell from the University of Southampton, who set sail from the UK today (1 June), venturing ...
Jun 01, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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Recyclable printed circuit boards
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), along with partners In2Tec Ltd (UK) and Gwent Electronic Materials Ltd, have developed a printed circuit board (PCB) whose components can be easily separated by immersion in hot water. ...
Jun 01, 2012 |
2 / 5 (1) |
3
Water
Water is a ubiquitous chemical substance, composed of hydrogen and oxygen, that is essential for the survival of many known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface. On Earth, it is found mostly in oceans and other large water bodies, with 1.6% of water below ground in aquifers and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid and liquid water particles suspended in air), and precipitation. Saltwater oceans hold 97% of surface water, glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4%, and other land surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6%. A very small amount of the Earth's water is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products. Other water is trapped in ice caps, glaciers, aquifers, or in lakes, sometimes providing fresh water for life on land.
Water moves continually through a cycle of evaporation or transpiration (evapotranspiration), precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea. Winds carry water vapor over land at the same rate as runoff into the sea. Over land, evaporation and transpiration contribute to the precipitation over land.
Clean, fresh drinking water is essential to human and other lifeforms. Access to safe drinking water has improved steadily and substantially over the last decades in almost every part of the world. There is a clear correlation between access to safe water and GDP per capita. However, some observers have estimated that by 2025 more than half of the world population will be facing water-based vulnerability. Water plays an important role in the world economy, as it functions as a solvent for a wide variety of chemical substances and facilitates industrial cooling and transportation. Approximately 70 percent of freshwater is consumed by agriculture.
For more information about Water, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
