water inventory

views updated May 29 2018

water inventory
1. An inventory to show how water is consumed, used, or otherwise involved in a particular process or place (e.g. within a steel plant or a house).

2. Globally, approximately 97 per cent of the Earth's water occurs in the oceans. Of the fresh water, 75 per cent is locked up in ice sheets and glaciers and almost 25 per cent is groundwater. Lakes, reservoirs, swamps, river channels, biospheric water, atmospheric water, and soil moisture together account for the remainder. The amount of water at each stage of the hydrological cycle is called the water storage.

water inventory

views updated May 08 2018

water inventory Globally, approximately 97% of the Earth's water occurs in the oceans. Of the fresh water, 75% is locked up in ice sheets and glaciers, almost 25% is groundwater, and lakes, reservoirs, swamps, river channels, biospheric water, atmospheric water, and soil moisture together account for the remainder. The amount of water at each stage of the hydrological cycle is called the water storage.