Question

According to The United States Geological Survey, water having less than 1000 mg/litre of total dissolved solids is:
a.) fresh water
b.) slightly saline
c.) moderately saline
d.) brine water

Answer 1

Hint: Water is stored in many forms on earth, glacier is the largest reservoir for the freshwater. Earth is about 97 percent of the water that is present in the oceans and about 3 percent water present in ice caps, rivers etc.

Complete step by step answer:
Fresh water is defined as the water having less than 1000 mg/litre of total dissolved solids. Fresh water is the naturally occurring water on the surface of earth in the form of ice sheets, ice caps, icebergs, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and underground water as groundwater in aquifers and the underground stems.
Most of the fresh water which is not present below the ground or in the rivers is present in the glaciers which is about 69 percent. This much amount of freshwater is not available to use, most of the glaciers are present in Antarctica and Greenland.

Additional Information:
The freshwater can be stored underground for about 10000 years whereas the freshwater can be stored in the form of glaciers for around 40-400 years.
Freshwater is necessary for life, supporting ecosystems and for human civilization. We use the freshwater in many activities in daily life including the food production, power generation, manufacturing and sanitation.
So, the correct answer is “Option A”.

Note: Water is a critical issue for the survival of all the living organisms on earth. Some of the desert or terrestrial organisms live without drinking water for a long time and sometimes they can also use salt water for their survival. The aquatic organisms can only survive when the salt concentration in water is low.