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Short answer:
We have fresh water because it rains. Rain (and snow) comes from the condensation of water vapor in air. Water vapor is pure. Very little of anything else is picked up when it forms droplets and ice in the clouds. Water vapor comes from evaporation of water from oceans mostly, but some from land and forests. Evaporation purifies the water, leaving behind and salt or impurities.
We have salt water because the oceans form at the lowest place on the planet and is this is the collection point for the rainwater and dissolved salts that rainwater has picked up. Evaporation leaves the salt behind. Within the first billion years of Earth's existence, the salt concentration rose to pretty much what it is now in the oceans. (See related question on why the ocean has salt.)
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoGlaciers and polar ice caps usually begin as fallen snow, which is fresh water. When water evaporates it is perfectly pure. Even when sea water freezes, the composition of the ice crystals means that the salt is left behind, so only the fresh water freezes.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoYes, they are.
"Nearly 70% of that fresh water is frozen in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland; most of the remainder is present as soil moisture, or lies in deep underground aquifers as groundwater not accessible to human use."
Source: http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/freshwater_supply/freshwater.html
Wiki User
∙ 16y agoThey aren't...The poles have ice on them, and ice is made of fresh water.
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoOcean currents carry warm water near the north and south poles. The warmer water near the north and south pole are a result of global warming.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoThey solidify and freeze rainfall, which is fresh.
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoBecause the North and South Poles are the second hottest area the hottest area is the Equator
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoNo, the Ice Sheet which the North Pole is on, is made of frozen seawater.
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Is it eaiser to float in salt water than fresh water?
It is easier to float in salt water than in fresh water.
Will a ball float higher in salt or fresh water?
Salt water is more buoyant than fresh water is, because salt water is slightly more dense. -- Anything that floats in salt water will float higher than it does in fresh water. -- Anything that sinks in salt water will sink slower than it does in fresh water. -- Anything that just barely floats in salt water may possibly sink in fresh water.
Will ships float or sink in fresh water?
Ships float in fresh water too. Only a little deeper, since fresh water is less dense than salt water.
Why do ships sink more in fresh water than in salt water in respect to?
Salt water is more dense than fresh water. So when you're in salt water you float more than when you are in fresh water
Why does salt water make stuff float than fresh water?
Salt water has a greater density than fresh water. So the same object will foat higher in salt water than in fresh, and some things will foat in salt water that are too dense to float in fresh water.
What is most water in the world?
most water in the world is not fresh it is salt but in the north and south poles are where fresh water is located
Is most of earth's water frozen at the poles?
no. but most of earths fresh water is.
What percent is frozen at the poles of the earths fresh water?
75%
What make up the greatest amount of fresh water is?
ice at the poles
Where does most fresh water on earth remain?
Frozen in the icecaps (in the form of ice at the poles).
Where is fresh water found?
in the underground and rivers, streams ,lakes.
What is the percentage of the fresh water in the world?
Of total water available in earth, 2.59% of water is fresh and in that 2% of water is frozen as glaciers in the poles. Ground water constitutes around 0.592% and about 0.014% is present in lakes, ponds, etc.
How is fresh water both a renewable and a limited resource?
Its renewable because the ecosystem collects and purifies the fresh water. Its limited because the earth is only made up of 3% of fresh water and most of the other half is locked up in ice at the Poles.
Of the total amount of water on the earth what percent is frozen at the poles?
Since the water that melts is classified as "fresh". the polar ice represents about 50% of the world supply of fresh water. Overall the polar ice is about 2% of all water.
What percent of the earths fresh water is frozen poles?
Only about 1.7% of the world's total water is trapped in glaciers and ice caps, but about 68.7% of fresh water on Earth is frozen in them.
Where is the earths available freshwater stored?
All fresh water is stored in the ice shelves of the north and south poles.
What color are the poles on mars. what makes them this color?
The poles on Mars are primarily white in color. This is because they are composed mostly of frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) and water ice. The combination of these frozen substances gives the poles their distinctive white appearance.
